Separate Insurance Policy - LP's, Memorabilia, Etc

I just narrowly averted damage to my LP's when a freak hail storm shattered all of my sky lights and the hail and rain came pouring in. The rack was against the far wall and remained fairly dry except a dose of humidity. I have State Farm and they have been great so far with paying for the damage to the house. I did bump my personal possesion coverage to cover audio related items per my agents recommendation many years ago.

Buconero - did Chubb require you to list every LP, CD, etc. that you own?!

I pray they didn't...

For the value of that collection, that certainly isn't a bad deal.

I just upgrade my home insurance. I figure that despite me being Canadian, it will be pretty close. I was told by my agent that, like others posting above, the overall personal property value would cover the cost of the collection if and only if 1) the policy amount was sufficient (of course) and 2) if I had a very accurate record.

I do have an accurate record and it is backed up as well as being stored online. I also have the list checked over by my local high-end dealer from whom I buy most of my records. He knows not only what I have but how much each is worth.

The insurance company offered "replacement value" as a standard because I have other types of insurance with them. The replacement value was very important because it covers the actual cost to replace today if bought new. This goes for my audio gear as well. If I bought something for $5000 then I would be handed either the same unit (if they could find one) or a $5000 cheque.

The key is to have an agent over and in the policy, actually document the limits etc. Then, ask the agent what can be done to hasten a claim recovery payment. For instance, he offered me some really great suggestions on placement of gear, albums etc, which would avoid flood/fire/other negligent damage. Most I had thought of myself but there were a few points at which I was baffled. He told me they like to sell the policies, but no company wants to pay out. This is a co-op so they are better than most but he said ultimately, take as much precaution as possible and follow all of his tips.

State Farm covers my collection as long as you have documentation of worth. A rider attached to the policy covers my collection. I made a database using Excel, some go as far as to take a pic of front and back of album covers.

I'm an agent. Most carriers can cover albums, etc under a fine arts rider. Negotiate the rate given your exposure. Have a maximum per album limit and a total limit for your collection. The benefit by scheduling this stuff is that there is no debate at the time of loss and there is no deductible.