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Has anyone ever got extra home/tenant insurance just to cover there stamps and supplies? I just recently moved and after getting our tennant pack insurance I realized that if our house went up in flames what we have for insurance would barley cover our basic household items let alone my stamping stuff, considering some of my stamp sets are retired and might be difficult/expensive to replace. Just wondering what others have done. TIA
Has anyone ever got extra home/tenant insurance just to cover there stamps and supplies? I just recently moved and after getting our tennant pack insurance I realized that if our house went up in flames what we have for insurance would barley cover our basic household items let alone my stamping stuff, considering some of my stamp sets are retired and might be difficult/expensive to replace. Just wondering what others have done. TIA
I'm no insurance guru, but you might want to think about getting better coverage just in general, with replacement value to cover the actual cost of replacing the item. It might cost a little more each month, but it's worth it. Also you might want to take digital pictures of your supplies (actually of all the expensive items in your home, including the serial number if possible and also take pictures of "collections" like DVDs, your closet, etc.). Burn the pictures to a CD or DVD and put it in your safe deposit box. (also while you're burning disks, make CD or DVD copies of all your digital pictures on your computer and throw that disk in the safe deposit box too).
We had a break-in last year so unfortunately I'm quite knowledgeable about replacement costs and trying to itemize your home!
I bought a computer program from LNS just for Rubberstamping/scrapbooking.
I talked to my State Farm Insurance office before we moved to the new ranch to make sure that my *craft* supplies would be covered under our homeowners policy.
I was told I needed to have a record of my inventory, so I purchased the program and I keep it pretty much up to date. I also have a video recording of my craft room/office showing the items I store, where and how. I have a folder (zip top 12 x 12 paper keeper) I keep all my receipts in for what I buy.
Very little to do to have the thousands of dollars worth of items replaced!
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
I think like you.... I was thinking of getting a fireproof/waterproof/smokeproof safe to store scrapbooks in (whenever I actually finish one) but theyre like $200+ to be big enough for 12x12 albums, but then again if I added up everything I've spent on all the supplies....yikes. Anyhow, yeah ive thought of the same all that work to go up on flames would be a horrible shame. Plus i live in a townhouse so if the neighbor catches on fire so will I.
I know for renter's insurance there is an option to get REPLACEMENT value coverage. It's so that you can go out and buy a new TV, even if your 15 yr old TV gets destroyed. B/c your 15 yr old TV was MAYBE worth $20...it doesn't do any good to get that returned to you, right? That's not going to replace your TV...even if it WAS old.
BUT, when you do replacement, you don't get a big check. You have to continually submit your purchases for reimbursement. Plus, you have to prove you previously owned the item. That means that you DO need some record. Pics and video are good, but a record of purchase is best. You can't just take a picture of a wall in your craft room stacked to the ceiling with stamps. You'd need to photograph the whole box and show, "This is a 6 stamp set...," etc.
__________________ They say house cleaning never killed anyone, but why take the chance?
When I first became a widow, I had to change insurance companies because I couldn't get the old one to understand my husband was no longer on the deed to my home (small town, everybody knew him, but I kept getting bills in his name, even after I showed them the deed without his name on it and his death certificate). I recently remarried, guess who my new sister-in-law is? My old agent (we won't even go there!)
My NEW agent reviewed my old policy and took a tour of my house and about jumped when he saw my "hobby" room. This is what he had me do:
I photographed everything and I keep it up to date, all my stamps sets and anything that I won't use up "after multiple uses," like stamp pads and markers, scissors, etc.
My photos are on a CD & a separate inventory has the manufacturer, price, stamp set or item name, number of items in the set, and where I bought it. (I rotate one of two CDs into my safe deposit box with updates.)
Have replacement cost on your home???? MAKE SURE YOU ALSO HAVE IT ON THE CONTENTS! This is not automatic, you have to request it.
I have my stamp "collection" separately insured under a rider policy, and all my sewing equipment (I have an in-home business and my machines are good ones).
Also separately insured is my carousel horse collection since some of them are 75+ years old and belonged to my grandmother.
(If your homeowner's policy doesn't have a "mysterious disappearance" clause, you better have your wedding rings insured to! Ever have a diamond fall out of a setting and you can't find it? - mysterious disappearance.)
Check with your bank - if you are over 50 - some banks offer a 1/2 price cost on a safe-deposit box if you have a senior checking account! Either way, it's worth every penny.
If you can't afford a safe deposit box because of all the money you've spent on your stamps - find a sister or friend or somebody to keep the info for you and tell them you'll do the same for them.
We keep all our papers in a small fireproof safe. Bought it at Target. It's not for security, of course, since anyone could just pick it up and carry it out of the house, LOL. We just got it to protect the documents in case of fire or tornado or whatever natural disaster might hit. It's a great place to keep cds of pictures of our stuff for insurance.
Has anyone ever got extra home/tenant insurance just to cover there stamps and supplies? I just recently moved and after getting our tennant pack insurance I realized that if our house went up in flames what we have for insurance would barley cover our basic household items let alone my stamping stuff, considering some of my stamp sets are retired and might be difficult/expensive to replace. Just wondering what others have done. TIA
As an insurance broker, I always suggest that it be added as an endorsement to your homeowners policy or tenant policy. It is inexpensive, check with your agent for more information. ;)
Thanks for all of the replies. My DH and I have been talking since we got our insurance policy and are planning on going in and getting our household items insured for more and also getting extra insurance on my stamp, and supplies, I don't have alot right now but it is enough that if we had a fire it would cost alot to replace some of the sets. I have been recataloging my stamp sets and when I get that done I will make copies and give them to several family members to hold in a safe place, this is also how we have our life insurance and wills as well, as for putting everything on disc I know from talking to several people who work with files and archives that over a short period of time the information that is stored on discs starts to break down so I personally will go with hard copies of everything just to be safe. I know alot of people don't think of these things until it is too late but my BIL owns a cleaning company and he says that the things that get destroyed in a fire or water damage is something that most people wouldn't think about insuring or having to replace until it is too late. I know with the economy in such an unstable state right now some people can't afford insurance but with all that we invest in our stamping I think that it is worth it to take a few hundred out of our stamping budget to make sure that I can replace what I have if I ever need to. Thanks again everyone, and keep the advice coming I am sure there are others who are interested or arn't aware of what they need to do.
Jackie
We have replacement value and have upped that considerably due to my addiction to stamping stuff. I am also going to get the LNS program and do the pictures.
blessings.
Yeah, I'm not sure how the insurance policy works. We own a house so there's content with our insurance but not sure how to claim it. The deal is, a lot of our stuff our things from flea markets, antique stores, etc. I guess I can find similar items but each is special. The most expensive thing we have is a sleep number bed.
I guess I'll go take pictures and save it to a few CDs and leave one at work, one in the basement, one somewhere else.
I think my craft items are worth close to $5,000 (or maybe over). The Klik-n-Kut alone is $800. Them stamps sure add up!! It's almost seven years since I've been collecting. I think that amount is pretty small
I know mine is over $5,000.00. I spent 12,000 the first year just getting all nice furniture including two nice matching desks. I have so many stamp sets I really need to do an inventory. My agent suggested a seperate rider for the coverage on this room. I just need to get my butt moving on a project I dont want to do...lol
Blessings.
Extra Insurance because of Stamp/Supplies
