Want advice on insuring my game collection

[Gemini-Phoenix]

How would one go about insuring their game collection?

I think it is about time I looked into insuring my collection. I have many things which are almost impossible to replace, and would cost a fortune if they could be located...


I estimate I have spent around £60,000 on my collection within the last 7 or so years (Basically, the time I have been earning my own money)


Now I am confused about how I would go about insuring a collection like this. If it were antiques, then I would assume i'd get an antiques expert in to value my antiques - The same goes for a car collection too I would guess - But would I need a games expert to come and value my collection?


would I insure for what I have spent on the collection, or would I insure for what I believe it is worth now (More than I paid I would guess as I have many rarities Etc)


Anyone else got their collection insured? If so, how much is it insured for, and how much did you need to pay to do that?

[Richter Belmount]

buy a shotgun and then noone will mess with your collection or get steal some c4 and set it up as a trap to your collection.

[Promophile]

Once I was watching Oprah (don't ask, I was channel surfing) and they had this security guy. He makes houses safe for rich people, and his own house was a FREAKING FORT. He had stuff like gernade proof windows and an escape rocket, I swear. Anyways, he said the most important home safety thing you can do is having a "safety zone", which is an area with preferably no windows, or bullet proof glass windows, and a Heavy lockable steel door. Once I get a house, trust me, I'm buying a steel lockable door to hide my games behind.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Yeah, Ok guys. I wasn't on about those kinds of insurance!!! ol. Although, I must admit, a few of those methods I had already thought of!

I especially like the idea of maybe an air tight, dust free "Area 51 / Labratory" style room where you have to wear has-mat suits to enter!!! And all my rare sealed games will each go into specialist "Steel safe" like chambers.


But, alas, I am not rich, so I need a realistic alternative...

[Promophile]

Yeah, Ok guys. I wasn't on about those kinds of insurance!!! ol. Although, I must admit, a few of those methods I had already thought of!

I especially like the idea of maybe an air tight, dust free "Area 51 / Labratory" style room where you have to wear has-mat suits to enter!!! And all my rare sealed games will each go into specialist "Steel safe" like chambers.


But, alas, I am not rich, so I need a realistic alternative...

Actually it wasn't too expensive to create a "safe zone", during the show he went to some peoples houses and they bought some steel doors and such for a few hundred dollars. As for how to go about getting video game insurance... I'm curious too.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Cos what I am thinking is... How would the insurance company know how much my collection is worth? They would have no idea about rarities or the like, so they would have to believe me if I told them it was worth £60k.

But then what's stopping me telling them it's worth £100k?


Another thing - I buy games every single day, so my collection won't stay at that value for very long - Every month I spend about £1,200 on games, so i'd have to review my insurance often just to make sure it's up to date!


And would I need to name every single item? Ie, would I have to declare a game title, age, condition Etc? If it were house insurance, you'd do that with other items of value, like antique chair's or an old victorian welsh dreeser or a set of antique pottery or something...

[davidleeroth]

I think you would need to have a couple of quotes from a formidable source like a somewhat known collector or maybe you could show them your Digitpress Collector's Guide.

I think there are insurance companies spealizing in collections and I'm sure there are guys who use them in this very board.
Anyways, insurance companies will insure anything from poop to diamons, it's all about asking around for the best policy versus price.

EDIT:

Just remembered there was a FAQ about game collection insurance in ntsc-uk.com. How sweet is that?

[Gemini-Phoenix]

This part was funny:

"The primary causes of damage that are covered are: fire, theft, explosion, lightning, falling aircraft, flood, storm, burst pipes, malicious damage, vehicle impact, earthquake and subsidence."


As much as i'd hate for it to happen to MY collection, it would be funny if one or other of those listed above actually DID happen! Lol!


As useful as that info was, it was still a little vague. I did take notice of the part where it says you should insure for the price it would cost to replace new - And seeing as most my games are sealed, this would be very benficial to me, as it would mean I would have to insure for a lot more than I originally paid for most my games!!!

I like how they referred to Silvergun and Dragoon Saga too! Lol.

[Flack]

The UK could be totally different from the US, so keep that in mind.

When I switched insurance companies, we had to go down and sign a bunch of paperwork. Near the end, they lady asked me, "do you have anything of value not covered by your policy?" I said what, and she said stuff like really expensive jewelry, collections of any sort, etc. She said they would make out a special rider to specifically cover any collections. At the time I was thinking of two things, Star Wars collection and Videogame collection. There was a number involved too but I don't remember what it was -- something to the effect of, is your collection worth more than $2,000 ... or it might have been $1,000, but I think it was 2.

Whatever you choose, then you'll tell them a value, and then you'll pay premiums based off that value. So if you insure your collection for $50,000, you'll be paying a lot more than if you insure it for $10,000. You may or may not have to provide a list of items and pictures, but you'll want that stuff for your own record should your collection get damaged, destroyed or stolen.

Search google for "insure collection" for lots of links and information. If you're serious about it, just talk to whoever provides your home insurance. They deal with this stuff all the time.

[FlufflePuff]

I have a renter's insurance policy for $40,000 bucks. That covers everything in my apartment, but I got it specifically for my collection. I keep my collection logged on IGN so I have a nonphysical list of my games. If there ever was a disaster, I could just print off a list of my games and either the insurance company would take the IGN value or they would seek to have them appraised on their own. I don't know about the UK, but I only pay $250 a year for this peace of mind.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I have a renter's insurance policy for $40,000 bucks. That covers everything in my apartment, but I got it specifically for my collection. I keep my collection logged on IGN so I have a nonphysical list of my games. If there ever was a disaster, I could just print off a list of my games and either the insurance company would take the IGN value or they would seek to have them appraised on their own. I don't know about the UK, but I only pay $250 a year for this peace of mind.

Cool. I'd seriously think about doing that for about ten years and then accidently on purpose make my collection disappear... Especially if it was worth over 50k!!! I'm sure a few of my mates would gladly volunteer their fingerprints and their attic space!!! Lol!


Seriously though, it's one thing knowing you won't miss out financially if something did happen (Like fire or flood or something) but there is a lot more than just money to consider...


A lot of my consoles / games have a unique story to tell - I went to a lot of time and effort to aquire my red PS2. Technically, I shouldn't even have it as Sony originally refused to sell one to me! Let's just say there are ways around the system, but it took a lot of effort and time as well as money. I certainly wouldn't want to go through that again!!!

A lot of my games have also been presents from when I was younger, so those particular games have memories attached to them

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Once again, moving this one to the video game forum.

[Sylentwulf]

Most important thing is PICTURES. Take TONS of pictures of EVERYTHING in your collection, and put it online (just get a geocities page and update it every 3-6 months)

That way, if your whole house blows up, you can STILL go online anywhere in the world and say "See, this is what I owned"

By far the safest and easiest way to prove what you owned. Other than that, what they said. Talk to whoever does your insurance now, or just open up the phone book and find a big decent company that's been around for awhile and ask them. WE'RE not going to know what THEY require.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

So there's no David Dickinson of the gaming world who I can call up to "Appraise" or "Value" my collection then?

Lol! Now that would be funny!

"Chu Chu Rocket - Less than 50 pence - Cheap as chips!!!"

[v1rich]

I think video game appraisals will be big business one day. I read about it in "The Millionaire Next Door" that a lot of people running antique appraisal businesses do really well.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Well, they do say things like this will become the antiques of the future... So long as there is still a demand for them, then there will always be a market and things will still hold their value...


Think how much Panzer Dragoon Saga will be worth in 10 years time!

Come to think of it, think how much Steel Battalion will be worth! In only a year and a half just look how much it's value has risen from the RRP!!! Imagine in ten years time...

[Ed Oscuro]

Actually it wasn't too expensive to create a "safe zone", during the show he went to some peoples houses and they bought some steel doors and such for a few hundred dollars. As for how to go about getting video game insurance... I'm curious too.

Just to bring up an interesting point - if you do that you're safe against thieves, but what happens if there's a fire? Unless the whole room is sealed off there's no way you'll get your stuff out (that's probably true with a regular fire, too...).

Hmm. I like that idea all the same.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Well, it's now legal to beat the living crap out of burglers, so that's a little weight off of my shoulders! Any thief comes near me or my games, and they'll live just long enough to regret ever coming into my house!!!

[Icarus Moonsight]

Wouldn't they be covered under Contents of a Homeowners/Renters policy? Considering you had the proper amount of coverage for contents and proof of ownership like photos and receipts. Would you need more than Fire/Flood/Theft? I mean why buy a policy specificly for your game collection? Is there any benefit?

[Icarus Moonsight]

I also think that some adjusters would crap themselves seeing some of our collection/values lists. So even if you purchase the proper amount of insurance would they adjust your claim and hose you on your sealed NES collection because you can buy NES carts at Gamestop for under $3? I think the hobby has a little ways to go before it's taken seriously by the non-gaming community.

Maybe I'm a little biased by my dislike of slicky insurance people.

There is also Loyd's of London... they insure everything, even the uninsurable. See... slicky bastards :P