How is the value of a gun collection determined for insurance purposes?
My bud is in the market for first home and moving from Old Family Place.
He inherited many guns from his Father who was a Gunsmith and a collector /trader and that man had also inherited a number of guns himself from other family member`s .
Goes from Revolutionary War to Vietnam + other conflicts —-hand guns and long guns -plus one`s my friend has gathered along the way .
Are there special insurance companies who cover collections besides the NRA ?
Should each firearm be photographed and a itemized list made , if so what info on this list ?
Should these be considered as part of contents when he gets home owner`s insurance and really up the home content`s amount and leave it at that ?
At present , they are just in many cabinet`s and a few in safes and not noted on the Family Home insurance .
What security system is the preferred choice of fire arm collector`s ?
Any other step`s he should take ?
He has been looking for home with completed nice basement for extra security purpose and because he really likes to see a lot of these displayed , but not too many home`s built with basements in that remote area.
Safe room added or ???
All info/ suggestion`s appreciated – want to do this the best/safest way right from the start.
Thanks !
Thanks to all who responded, we now have the fact`s of what we need to do.
And of course, nothing is going to make a collection 100% safe as so well pointed out, especially from fire.
Am contacting our favourite local gun shop as to the best appraiser to come out and get this started ASAP.
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Tags: collection, determined, hand guns, info suggestion, Insurance, long guns, purposes, value
5 Responses to “How is the value of a gun collection determined for insurance purposes?”
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Answering these questions EXACTLY CORRECTLY without Internet experts arguing back and forth is exactly what you pay your insurance agent for.
They will want to see an appraisal, from someone they recognize as an authority on the matter. The pictures and descriptions are just the start, but yes, start there. Get them added to the insurance policy even before you take the time to get the appraisal done. At least you will have book values if something were to happen before the appraisal.
A good many insurance companies will write a “rider” with your home owner’s insurance policy to cover the guns. I have 43 rifles, shotguns, and handguns; probably worth around 55 grand. None of them are “collector items” so what I have them insured for is replacement value.
What I have for my guns is a loose leaf notebook. There are at least two pictures of each gun, more if the gun is unusual. Data for the guns is the name of the maker, model number or name, serial number, finish on the gun, or material it is made out of, (i.e., blued, nickel, stainless steel, etc.), a description of the stock or grip, and a list of any special features (i.e., engraved, ported barrel, etc.). The notebook is in my safe deposit box at the bank. A “copy” is in my computer, and I keep a “working copy” in the gun safe that I make changes to as I sell off a gun or buy another. I update everything about twice a year.
My guns are stored in two fire proof safes, in the lower level of my split level home. I have a double alarm system in the home. One is a standard motion detector. The other is a vibration/motion switch attached to the back of the safe. If someone attempts to move it or break it open, it flashes house lights and screams it head off. Both alarms are “aggressive” in that the noise level is painful. In addition to the theft alarms, I have smoke detectors installed near the safes and on both floors of the home.
I do have a few guns on wall hangers for display. Since I have grand kids over quite a bit I took steps to make the guns safe. First there are plastic ties on the trigger guards latching the guns to the display rack. Secondly, I removed the fire pins from the guns.
Hope this helps.
Home owner insurance is different from place to place. Your friend will and should get the guns apprised and then work with a insurance co. to cover all of the firearms. I needed to do this with my wife’s wedding ring and I had to buy more insurance on it. He will also need to research how to store a lot of guns.
They will need to be appraised by a quality gun shop. Also, they are considered a collection, so like was said in another answer, they will need a rider policy to make sure they are covered as a collection. I lost 63 rifles and pistols in a house fire that were not covered because they are considered a collection if there are more than 3 of them. Now I have a rider policy that covers them for replacement value and whenever I buy a new one I contact my agent and up the policy accordingly.
edit: because of the answer below I have to add one more thing… NOTHING can protect your firearms against fire if it gets hot enough. Not even double-walls with 5/8″ sheet rock and a “fireproof” gun safe. I was told this directly by the Fire Marshall who investigated the fire I had. No matter what you do, it only protects the firearms from fire up to a certain temperature. Once the room your guns are in reaches its’ flash point, nothing can stop them from igniting. He did tell me that “gun rooms” made from concrete on all four walls, and the ceiling seem to fair the best if built properly.
I am a long time Alaskan hunter, trapper – and I design high tech CCTV and Security systems for government, military, and large corporations all across Alaska.
What your bud needs to do is catalog each firearm, photograph it, and get an estimated appraisal on them.
A normal homeowners policy will only cover up to $1,000 in firearms. Above that, you need to present the Insurance company with the make, model, condition and estimated value. These firearms go on ‘schedule’.
Scheduled firearms can be scheduled several way. They can receive fire + theft insurance (this is what I recommend) and is the least expensive. The other choice is called, “all harm”and is what hunters use for expensive guns – it covers all possible losses from fire, theft, damage, and falling into the lake.
What you get from the insurance company when making a claim depends on how you presented them with proof of value. Say you have an 1861 Colt pistol in excellent conditon with original wood case, manual and sales receipt – that 150 year old original box, manual and sales receipt is worth as much as the gun – if not more! If you simply insured the gun – listed it as an 1861 Colt Pistol in EX conditon – the insurance company will replace it……… but not the other goodies. This is where having an appraisal of the firearm and it’s accessories becomes important.
Displaying firearms and security never, ever mix well. What you need is a small room or large closet that has double walled 5/8″ sheet rock. Double sheet rock will protect the collection from fire. If you put mesh hog wire between the sheets – it will definitly slow down an intruder.
For an alarm system – surf on over the Sensorphone.com this is a great product. It is a small grey box that connects to power, your phone line, and sensors – motion, intrusion, sound, and temperature – that monitor the home of office. If something goes wrong – it will call you and use it’s voice chip to tell you exactly what is happening, plus, it will let you listen to what is going on. If it gets too hot or cold – or someone breaks in – it calls you – and goes down a list of numbers until somone gives it the secret pin number. If you are concerned about your house – you can call into the unit, it will answer the phone, tell you the state of all the contracts, what the temperature is, how hot and cold it has been – and then let you listen in for 20 seconds. They cost between $400 and $600 depending on features – they are affordable – and perfect for do-it yourselfers. They are not rocket scientist things to install and make work.
Hope this helps.