2. analog
  3. 1061920205

insuring vinyl

I hope this question is appropriate for this forum--I thought about posting it under "Misc." but worried that it wouldn't receive the same sort of attention it might here.

I'm curious how other people have managed to insure their vinyl collections. I recently found out that my renter's insurance doesn't cover vinyl (nor, apparently, do most homeowner's policies--so some of you may want to call your agents!). My particular insurance company is also uninterested in covering my collection as a whole, though they will cover single items of very high value. Since most of my LPs and 7"s are probably worth $5-25 with a few records maybe up to $50 or $75, this doesn't help much. I was told I need to have my vinyl collection professionally appraised, at which point I can either purchase a specific rider (assuming another insurance co. will issue me one) or hope that my insurance co.'s underwriters will allow me to bump up my total coverage to include the appraised value of my collection.

I'm wondering if anyone here went through anything similar, or has any advice about how to get vinyl insured and/or appraised (most of the appraisers locally specialize in art & antiques). Also, since my collection includes a lot of recent, indie vinyl issued in small editions by largely unknown bands, if anyone knows an appraiser who might specialize in such music I'd really appreciate a tip. I'm worried that many appraisers wouldn't know how to value bands other than the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Joshua
am_dial24fb
blw
147 posts
 
I just checked my homeowner's policy with State Farm (I'm in Virginia if it matters). It does cover both my electronics and the collections. I regularly file a CD of photos with my insurance agent, and perhaps I will take a few of the important items in the collection. I file the CD regularly becuase I'm a little spooked by recent discourse in the papers about CDRs having less than archival duration. Fortunately they're now dirt cheap and sending one to my sister 100 miles away and one to my insurance agent is not an interesting expense. (My tax returns, quicken backups, and some other stuff go up there too.)
am_dial
35 posts
 
Just a quick follow-up to my earlier posts: I spoke to a local agent who advised me that, while my collection is covered for replacement value as part of my renter's policy (as personal property), I should still get the collection professionally appraised and then attach a rider to the policy for it. Her brother, apparently, is an Elvis collector (how strange to hear an insurance agent talk about "clear blue vinyl LPs"!) and bought a special rider because a) if the record turns out to be irreplaceable (say you can't find one for sale), you won't get any money for it, and b) you'll only get replacement value, not collectible value. With a rider, according to this agent, I'd be paid the full value of the collection as determined by the appraiser, whether or not I can replace every record in it. Given the investment my own collection represents, this sounds (to me, at least) like a better idea than simply bumping up the amount of total coverage I buy. Just thought some of you might be interested in this. Thanks again for all the responses.

Joshua
pmkalby
130 posts
 
Blw- did you see anything in Snake Farm's policy about what replacement cost does / does not apply to? You have any irreplaceable vinyl? Oh, and the state you're in definately matters- policies can differ a little or a lot from state to state. The core policies are often all the same (in many cases they come from ISO as stock policy forms)- where many differences are is in endorsements used to customize that policy for a given state, and in the issue date of the form. The endorsement will be at the back, and change a sentence or two here or there in your core policy to add, delete, or modify coverage. Some companies write on an old version of a policy form as long as they can if that's favorable to them.

Also, notice that all the "my policy covers me" answers thus far have been homeowner's policies, which are more standardized than renter's policies, AND these answers assume replacement cost is not in dispute with the claims staff. The good thing is you are all looking and now you know what you've got.
More to discover