Anybody looked into insuring their fountain pen collection? Showing my favorites to someone yesterday, I realized there's a few thousand dollars' worth, between Vintage and fine new pens. Is there a company specializing?
Insuring the collection
- Thread starter AbbyW2
- Start date
They're probably covered under your homeowner's insurance policy. If your collection has an exceptionally high value, you'll probably need to add a special rider to your homeowner's policy. Best to check with your agent.
From a UK Insurance perspective, items taken out from the home would be covered if you have an 'unspecified personal effects' coverage, normally for £1000-£2000. Which should be enough for most pens. Times to watch are if you take a large collection for sale at a pen show, one seller at UK pen shows must have around £100,000 of pens for sale, many irreplaceable.
Pens in the home would be covered by a household contents policy, as uggested by DnD, if the collection is large, for example more than 10% of the value of the contents then you should advise insurers and have this specified, perhaps even have an agreed value which may need a professional valuation.
Pens in the home would be covered by a household contents policy, as uggested by DnD, if the collection is large, for example more than 10% of the value of the contents then you should advise insurers and have this specified, perhaps even have an agreed value which may need a professional valuation.
As always best to talk to your agent, but under most Homeowners' policies in the U.S., your pens are considered "Personal Property" and covered for replacement cost (to replace with brand new) anywhere in the world, subject to your deductible.
Where you could run into a problem: The average Joe doesn't own $10,000 worth of pens. So, if your house burns down, your adjuster might balk at the value of your claim. Documentation is a good idea. Photograph your collection and keep off premises.
Also, vintage pens are tough to value. Since you can't easily replace with new, they could be valued at what they cost new. It might be best to declare those as a collectible and list their value.
Furthermore, a standard Homeowner policy excludes business property. So, if you have a pen-related business, no matter how trivial, you could run into problems.
Where you could run into a problem: The average Joe doesn't own $10,000 worth of pens. So, if your house burns down, your adjuster might balk at the value of your claim. Documentation is a good idea. Photograph your collection and keep off premises.
Also, vintage pens are tough to value. Since you can't easily replace with new, they could be valued at what they cost new. It might be best to declare those as a collectible and list their value.
Furthermore, a standard Homeowner policy excludes business property. So, if you have a pen-related business, no matter how trivial, you could run into problems.
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My understanding is that without a specific rider for whatever high value collection, be it fountain pens, firearms or tools, the total value covered may have a limit and will also work into your overall 'contents' maximum coverage. "Sure, here's $10,000 for your pens, sorry there's not enough left to replace your clothes (furniture, whatever).
+1 on documenting your collection and it's value (appraisals always help).
+1 on documenting your collection and it's value (appraisals always help).
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