We are in the process of updating our homeowners insurance policy, so I took the time to read over the existing and proposed policies well.
To my surprise I found out our existing policy covered a maximum of $5000.00 for gun "theft or misplacement." It does not cover loss from tornado, fire or water damage due to fire. I asked what it would take to get coverage and found it reasonable. About $200.00 for $25,000 coverage. We are adding that to our new policy.
On a related note, you might find like I did that we were insuring our house for the value "pre recession", which means we were over insured by 30% to 40%. If your housing market is like Michigan, you can save a lot by insuring it for current replacement cost, - in our case we are fully insured and saved over $500.00 annually.
Thought I would pass on my experience.
Oh yea, to get my gun insurance value, I cataloged each and did internet research and found my current value is twice what I had previously estimated. I might suggest you look at this as it was quite a surprise to me. By the way, I don't have an extensive collection, but was surprised by the values of many of my bargain purchases.
Stonecove

I just got through doing that for my insurance company. I developed my own data sheet (one per firearm) and inserted a pic of each one that shows accessories. Easy to update when I buy another one, too. BTW, I copied everything to a CD and keep it in my safe deposit box as well.

Good information, thanks for posting... Question, the rates you cite seem much better than what I've recieved by my insurance company; who is your carrier? Did you have to list the guns that you wanted covered, or just provide the value that you wanted to insure?

Thanks

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NRA Life Member

Gunnar, I did a similar spreadsheet with pictures. I have a hard copy in the safe and my electronic file is backed up by Carbonite.
DMAR, I switched insurance to Autowners. I gave them a list of make, model, serial number and current value. The value exceeded what insurance I purchased, but I could have purchased the full amount. Just a dollars and cents thing.
Stonecove

I have a rider on my homeowner's policy that in theory covers whatever value I choose to place on each item and am willing to pay for. This is not carte blanche to pick a number out of the air, but you can justify a pretty wide range of values; pick your poison.

That being said, I have always had an uneasy feeling that should it become time to file a claim, the weasel words will be coming out of the woodwork. I have grilled my agent several times over the years as to what really happens when there is a claim, and he assures me that I am covered. But am I really?

Can anyone who has been unfortunate enough to have had a loss enlighten us as to how their company has handled the claim? I am sure that I am not the only one who is concerned about this. Be as specific as possible, and name names!

Bigolddave, I understand your point. I got that feeling too! I am interested in hearing the answer to your question.
Stonecove

+1..............

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Be careful on your homeowners policy... A lot of them only cover items stolen from the house, so if you are hunting and it gets stolen you might be SOL... I use Collectibles Insurance Services, which covers my collection for a cost of .0058% premium per year. So if you have a $100,000 collection your yearly cost is $580 and you are covered outside of the home.

I once had a pistol stolen --- State Farm simply said to get a replacement cost in writing, and when I submitted a price quote from a local dealer, the agent cut a check immediately, no quibbling. This has been my experience with other claims as well, no hassle, no haggling, as it ought to be with their comparatively high premiums.

It is not uncommon for firearms coverage to be limited to as little as 2500.00.

I have two acquaintances that fired firearms loss claims with a major insurer. The result was much like car wreck reimbursement: Average common value in their opinion.

I totally concur with the spreadsheet/pics/descriptions/purchase receipt tracking/extra coverage processes, but I prefer one further action. That is a formal appraisal of key items by a qualified and recognized appraiser.

Just my $.02 worth.

Since this is what I have done for a living for the past 18+ years I think I can explain this situation to you as it is apparent there is some mis-understanding about sub-limits contained in Homeowners insurance policies.

In general this applies to any insurance company writing the standard I.S.O. Form HO-3 policy.

An HO-3 policy is referred to as Special Form. What this means is it covers losses for any cause unless that cause is excluded. The standard exclusions are Earthquake and Flood, and can also be Wind and Hail in some parts of the country. This applies to both the structure and your personal property. The policy, in most cases, covers your personal property at "Replacement Cost", new for old it is usually referred to. This means that for any cause of loss all of your personal property will be replaced with, or reimbursed for, at current retail prices for identical or similar goods. This applies to firearms just like it does any other personal property.

The sub-limit applies to firearms, jewelry, silverware and a couple of other classes, and it applies to losses by theft, loss, mis-placement and "Mysterious Disappearance" only. Any other loss will be paid at replacement cost. The sticker with these types of items is establishing their true value at the time of loss. You need to be able to specifically identify the gun by make, model and serial number, and show value if a collector item by a valid appraisal, just like jewelry etc.

If you are concerned about your policy take it to an attorney and ask him to review it. The chances are if your agent tells you any different than I have it is he who doesn't understand what he is selling. Unfortunately this is all too common, especially with captive agents who only write for one company and under their logo. I hope you know the difference between a captive and an independent agent.

And for anyone who wanted to know, and this is not advertising, the company Stonecove refers to is Auto-Owners. I write for several companies, including this one, but it isn't my first choice.

you may have to get a specific fireamrs rider, to get the high dollar coverage you want. i mean, 10 hand guns and 10 rifles that are readily common and replaceable could be a 10,000-15,000 loss at 500-750 per gun including a scope on the rifles. and thats a small collection it goes up form tehre if they are rare. ,ost of us have a lot more in their guns alone.

so look into a firearms rider. same as a jewelry rider. my basic policy has like 2500 for my wifes ring, well its worth substantially more plus the other stuff ive bought her over the years so i got a jewelry rider, where I named the value. its about $100 a year more. ask for a discount for your safe.

also, replacment value on fire. i do home loan lending and my bank requires the lesser of the loan amount or the replacement cost as determined by the appraisal. in the bay area, 250$ a sq ft cost to construct, all-in is not unreasonable so if you have a 2000 sq ft house, $500k in replacement coverage on your house is not out of line. check a local contractor in your area including hard costs and soft costs.

I asked my insurance company (State Farm) what it would take to get a firearms rider on my homeowner's policy. They wanted an itemized list of descriptions with serials and appraisals, and the rate was still pretty high.

NRA endorses an insurance company that charges about $1.60/$100 insured. Not *cheap* but less than my insurance wanted, and they only ask for a total value, no itemizing except individual pieces over $2,500.

Worth considering.

I know my insurance will not cover my guns and I could not afford to pay for a rider policy every year. I took the money from a what a rider policy would cost me and purchased a good safe and an alarm system. I need to buy a third safe now, feel I am still money ahead. I hate putting money in the insurance companies pockets, so when you put a claim in they cancel your coverage. I have always kept a list of my guns in several safe places along with a hard copy at my dad's house. I know where he keeps his lists also. I just started developing a photo catalog. Joe