Insuring Firearms

[KYGlock]

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if you could share some knowledge on how you insure your firearms collections. I have a few questions on this topic:

1) Do you use riders to a homeowners policy, or is there a company you would recommend for a separate policy, etc?

2) What are you using and who has the best coverage/deals?

3)Are there companies that don’t require full disclosure of serial numbers, etc?

 

[LoboGunLeather]

All homeowners insurance policies (that I know of) cover firearms as personal property, invariably with specified limits on coverage. Typical limitation is about $2000 (which ain't a lot of quality guns anymore!). There are ways to increase this coverage:

1. You can pay a modest additional premium to raise your policy limit on firearms ($5000, 10,000, etc). This is usually very inexpensive to do and probably most appropriate for modern common firearms.

2. You can add a scheduled property endorsement listing each specific firearm (make, model, serial number, etc) and insure each for a stated value. This is a more expensive approach but probably more appropriate for valuable antiques, collectibles, or rare pieces.

As with any other type of personal property, it is a good idea to have good clear photographs documenting each piece, along with serial numbers and accessory items, and keep those in a safe location away from the home (bank deposit box, etc). This helps in proving ownership and documenting potential claims.


Every state's insurance regulations are different and every insurance company's policies are different. Consult your insurance agent for the best advice and specific premium quotes.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I have a policy with Armed Forces Insurance at Ft. Leavenworth.
If you mess with them, they will invite you up for an extended visit!

 

[df06]

I was not willing to pay he exorbitant price for a rider that listed all of my guns and serial numbers. Complicating the matter is that I buy/sell quite a bit and thought keeping up the details to my insurer would be a pain.
So I have higher end safes and no insurance on guns.

 

[rockquarry]

You might check your insurance company's rates against a company that handles a separate policy for your guns. It's worth the effort.

I've used Eastern for a good while and Collectibles before that. Coverage is similar; rates at Eastern sightly less and I've found them more pleasant to deal with.

 

[b_san]

I was not willing to pay he exorbitant price for a rider that listed all of my guns and serial numbers. Complicating the matter is that I buy/sell quite a bit and thought keeping up the details to my insurer would be a pain.
So I have higher end safes and no insurance on guns.

Contact Eastern Ins, no schedules for anything under 10k and the rate per $100 is very reasonable with a low deductible per event not item.

Acct. Mgr. Laura Sewall - direct # 800-545-9326 is very helpful.

 

[Jim R]

I currently have all my firearms insured with a rider on my home owners insurance. For two years I have been watching Gun & Trophy insurance on another website.

Gun Insurance and Trophy Insurance - GUNANDTROPHY.COM

There have been a few claims filed against them and none of the policy holders had any complaints. They have very reasonable rates but a $500.00 deductible for each incident.

You may want to look at their website of call them.

 

[JM4151]

Insurance on Guns

Allstate charges me $10.00 for each $1,000.00 worth of guns insured, per year. Its a rider on my homeowners policy, and I do have a $500.00 deductible. You establish the value of what you want the individual gun insured for. I don't insure my complete collection especially the guns that live in the safe, but I do insure the ones that I use. I do provide the make, model and serial #, and review the list yearly to delete the ones that I sell and insure the new ones. My agent has been very good about doing this.

 

[rockquarry]

Allstate charges me $10.00 for each $1,000.00 worth of guns insured, per year. Its a rider on my homeowners policy, and I do have a $500.00 deductible. You establish the value of what you want the individual gun insured for. I don't insure my complete collection especially the guns that live in the safe, but I do insure the ones that I use. I do provide the make, model and serial #, and review the list yearly to delete the ones that I sell and insure the new ones. My agent has been very good about doing this.

That's fine if you're insuring a few guns or small dollar amount. Unless they've changed their rates recently, Eastern charges about 1/3 that amount with a $250.00 deductible.

 

[KYGlock]

This is great information, thanks very much to all who have responded. Does anyone use USAA? If so, what has been your experience with rates and service?

 

[fmflorida]

Just something I do as I buy/sell/trade regularly.

When I get a new firearm I write all the information down on a legal pad...date/serial number/price/model.

I also take photos of the gun, serial number and bill of sale and save that to my computer and backups.

That way in the event of theft, fire or whatever I have solid evidence of what I own, what I paid and so on.

Definitely helps when arguing with an insurance company.

 

[cherrypointmarine]

I don't know if I would want my homeowners insurance co. knowing what I had and how many . Plus , who are they going to share that info with ? At least someone that only does collectables would be more less to give up the info I would think , but I am not an insurance guy .