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I've had a bit of a search and can't find much about insurance. If a thread or two exists on this
subject please point me in it's direction and ignore me, thanks!

Now, my models are not exactly Golden Demon standard but they are, in my eyes, priceless.
However if the worst should happen, fire, theft, flood etc what could I do?
My guitars are listed independently on my home insurance as is a watch I got for my 21st birthday.
The combined cost price of my models is easily more than any one of these items.
Now calculate the infinity man hours?

Were I to get an army of mine recreated from photos by BTP for instance
it would cost a fortune, assuming they had the bits etc. How do I prove the
quality of my painting is equal to or better than theirs?

In a nutshell, how do I value my models for insurance purposes?

Depends on who is doing the job of determining the value really. My guess is most would just see it as a bunch of toy soldiers, regardless of the many hours of love and labour put into it.

I hope Lord Castellan Mik does

I wouldn't give in to that mentality yet. Although State Farm Insurance might not be equipped to appraise your models, there is a flat dollar value associated with the figurine and 'x' number of man hours required for painting.

Collections can definitely be insured for more than their raw material value. If you had a thousand dollar coins in chronological month/year, for example, that would be worth more than $1,000.

Call around to your insurers and ask if they have anyone who can specialize in rare collections or can recommend someone who would employ a specialist.

You can get model soldier insurance as a collection or from specialist insurers.

It's certainly possible to value model soldiers on the basis of their purchase price and cost of painting from a professional service.

You need to do some legwork, find an insurer that will work with you, and then ask quesions like "In case of a loss, what exactly does 'replacement' mean.

The more that the insurer will have to pay in the event of a loss, the more you will need to pay as a premium.

You also are probably going to need to keep exact records of the miniatures you are insuring, and take photos of them.

mikhaila wrote:You need to do some legwork, find an insurer that will work with you, and then ask quesions like "In case of a loss, what exactly does 'replacement' mean.

The more that the insurer will have to pay in the event of a loss, the more you will need to pay as a premium.

You also are probably going to need to keep exact records of the miniatures you are insuring, and take photos of them.

This is absolutely true and applies also to most household contents you would insure such as CDs. (Keep UPC numbers -- you wouldn't need photos.) For cameras you would keep a record of the model number and serial number.

They might fall under your home owner's or renter's insurance.

Best thing, as mentioned above, is inquire with your insurance agent. Ask specific questions, like what if stolen at con or tourney.

In these economic times you may find it hard to find someone willing to insure an artform that is not mainstream. That being said I am sure someone will insure if the price is right.

The one thing i would do is make sure that if you do see an insurer, totally understand the criteria under which your coverage provides. In other words they may want to know: where you store them, how you store them, how you use them, how often you use them, under what what scenario would you default (ie leave them in a gamestore and someone steals them or little kid with grimy hands breaks them).

One last thing, if you do base your dollar amount off professional work...make sure they agree with you distinctly. You may base your prices off DiVinci's Epic Painting store where your model is worth $100.00, where they base that same model off of Bob's 3 color paint jobs which would price it at $5.00.

Thanks for the swift replies everyone.
Seems like it is time to do some grown up stuff with my ungrown up hobby!
Looks like this is going to be a case by case situation.
I'll have to look into it when I get home.

Out of interest does anyone actually have their collections insured?

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:Thanks for the swift replies everyone.
Seems like it is time to do some grown up stuff with my ungrown up hobby!
Looks like this is going to be a case by case situation.
I'll have to look into it when I get home.

Out of interest does anyone actually have their collections insured?

The only insurance i have seen, in any form, is a store agreement to display said model(s) and they will pay 100% of agreed upon cost if model is lost/stolen/damaged. But i don't think this is what you had in mind.

This is something I've wondered about before.

Is it easier to have just the cost of the models insured (and not paint jobs or anything else)? Would this be easier to have covered under homeowner's or renter's insurance, for example? Like, if something happens to them, you could get the raw miniatures back, but you wouldn't receive extra money for painting, time, etc.?

An insurance company will look at how the models are valued. The basic model has a replacement cost which is set by the retail price. If you have 10 Land Raider models, they would cost £350 to replace (or whatever it is) so you can insure them for £350.

You also have the cost of the time of assembling and painting them. I have a professionally painted 6mm Napoleonic army and I can exactly prove the cost by showing the invoice if I want to insure it.

If you painted the figures yourself you can set a price by comparing with a professional price list, however the insurer may not accept your valuation -- you can only find out by asking them.

If you are a quick painter, it will be cheaper to insure just the cost of the models and reckon on painting a new army if your house is burnt down.

The insurer will also need to know about the risks.

For example, if you regularly take the army on trips, you will be charged more than if you only use them at home. Also, you probably won't be able to insure against accidental damages since the models are going to be handled a lot and sometimes people will drop them. You shouldn't find it hard to insure against fire and theft.

Ask your current home cover company and compare their price with an insurer who specialises in collections and unusual items.

you have to find an independent insurer. Because i have more than 800 DVD's its classed as a collection and is valued as a whole not by indervidual cost, if you contact an insurer and they can't provied it maybe they will point you in the right direction.

My home owners insurance covers my gaming stuff. The agent simply classified it as collectables and we placed a value to it. I think mine is set for like $10K, which unfortunately probably would not cover the cost to replace all my stuff.

My dads house and contents insurance allows you to assess the value of your own posessions, and as I keep most of my collection in his spare room rather than my pokey little flat, it's covered. Although, due to a nice caveat, the models I have with me are still insured, even though they're not with him. We did a rough estimation of how much money I'd spent on my toys, then added 50% value for hours and labour. The insurance company was fine with it.

You can certainly get insurance for your models. Many insurance companies (although I'd think beyond the Gecko) will offer policies on just about anything you're willing to pay to have covered. They'll also likely be covered by many home owners / renters / or auto insurance policies depending on where they are when damaged/lost.

One thing you might want to do is to get a "certified" appraiser examine your collection to get a sense of its value. I don't know where you can find one where you are, but Bill Winski (the owner of Attactix in Colorado) was, at one time, recognized as an appraiser for figures. I had an army in the back of my car when I got in an accident and he took at a look at it to give my insurance company an "independent" estimate of the value and damage.

You will, of course, never be able to replace the time/effort/love in your army, should something happen, but it may be possible to get something back.

Basically, talk with your insurance company and see if they'll give you a policy on the figures and what they'd charge (TANSTAAFL afterall) and decide if it makes sense. Or, better still, see if your existing policies will cover them. In either case, you'll need to very carefullly, and completely, document exactly what you have, what it costs, etc... That can be a royal pain.

Vale,

JohnS