There was a thread on this a while back, seems like the majority decided their regular house did not cover the pins and additional insurance was needed. Some already do that and have the pins appraised to help cover them.

Homeowners is adequate under my policy. The amount of coverage I have for the things inside my home is well above and beyond what I need, but I can't have any less. What I do, I take video of all my machines and throw them up on youtube. I video the sides, and me playing a horrible one handed game just to prove it's real and functioning.

When I talked to my agent, he said that was a great idea, the only advice he had for me was to make sure I got the serial number in the video.

In my case, the distinction between covered and not covered is weather I was using the machines for commercial gain. If I had some pins on route as well, this could an issue.

I have considered this as well. Good information, anyone purchase additional insurance and how much cost did it add to your policy?

Like a good neighbor State Farm is there...with a new Pinball Machine!

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/insuring-your-machines

above is one of the threads.

My mother actually writes insurance, and I have her handle all of my policies. I called her last year and asked this exact question. The best thing you can do is take pictures, just to document that you actually did own that game - in case of total destruction (fire, tornado, etc...). Your homeowners policy should cover any item of value, up to the fair market value at time of destruction, up to the total insured value of your home. Now, if you have a 50 pin lineup, you probably want to write a separate policy and attach a rider to the existing policy, just for the value of those pins.

Basically - your house is insured up to $XXXX for loss. In the case of a total destruction of your property, you want to make sure that you have your home's contents insured for a value that would actually replace everything. For example, say you have a $200,000 house that you insure for a rebuild value of $275,000 and have $400,000 of total content insurance - then, if the house is destroyed in a fire you will have $275,000 to re-build the structure (or pay off the note, etc...) plus $400,000 to replace all of the stuff you owned that burned inside the house. So long as your collection wasn't a disproportionate amount of value vs. everything else in your house, you are fine.

Yes Minus Some Exclusions.. Which differ slightly by state. Guns are only up to $1,500, Cash only $1,500, Jewelry $1500 and So on.. Not sure if electronics are limited or not (im sure that what insurance would list a pinball as)

With Jewelry Or Guns the Second you list one on your policy you have to declare them all or they arnt covered.

Yes, guns and jewelry are limited on a standard policy, and need separate riders - because they are taken and used outside of the home and there is a significant risk of loss or theft outside of the home.

I have a rider added on my home owners insurance. It is cheap.

All State does the contents thing also. I'm covered up to 225k of contents not counting the house.

Just spoke with my Ins guy (State Farm) and we are covered up to the value of our house for all contents including all electronics (which includes pins) under the total coverage policy.

Our art needs a seperate rider for anything above 10k.

State farm is also in the process of making a "cloud" system with secure access and backup so policy holders will be able to upload videos and pics to document belongings. This should streamline the claim process and means you don't need to worry about having a fire safe to protect something that can be electronically documented on the cloud service.

I have separate insurance on my pins. I am just not sure how a homeonwers policy would react when you tell them you need $7k for your torched AFM. Would they really cut you a check for that? I dunno I guess there's only one way to find out.

Also no homeowners insurance covers you for water/flooding. I have been using a policy from this place and has been recommended before:

http://www.collectinsure.com/

I want to say it's about $100 a year for every $20k or so in pins.

I have Allstate and if basement floods it only covers up to 10k. I had to add a rider for another 90k for basement ideas.

Flooding from rising waters is not covered on a standard policy - that is, if rain water or runoff causes water to rise from the ground up and flood your home. We have no basements around here, because we live on the shittiest soil (clay, actually) on the planet, so the only flooding issues are in floodplains. Insurance will cover flooding caused by windblown rain, a hole knocked in your roof and water entering, hail knocking out a window and rain/hail soaking your belongings, water pipes bursting and causing a flood, etc... Just went through a flood claim after 8 inches of gravel-sized hail (yes, seriously) destroyed my gutters and caused the hardest rain that I have literally ever seen to be dumped onto my back porch and into my den and master bedroom. Deductible on that claim is typically 1% of the total insured value of the house, but insurance covered the rest.

All pins were perfectly safe in the higher gameroom.

Yeah, I work in insurance and keep meaning to get a seperate policy or rider specifically for pinball machines. Yes, they are covered under the contents coverage of your home owners which is usually 10-20% of your home's insured value depending on your policy type and company.

Specialized coverage has the advantages of (1) most likely a lower deductible, (2) adjusters who will actually know what you are talking about if you have a claim and (3) a more specific policy stating what is covered and not covered. For example, your homeowners probably doesn't cover water like gambit pointed out, a specialized policy may cover that. Like always, be sure to ask questions. And yes the coverage is cheap as the chances of claims are low.

Just be aware that your boards going out over time aren't a loss. Now a kid throwing a baseball and breaking your stuff should be covered.

https://quote.americancollectors.com/AcctMgmt/S/Geico/?Rd=QC

This place writes arcade stuff all the time.

I talked to my agent specifically about this. IF you have a large general property policy it is usually covered. Didn't need a separate rider. Keep documentation on what you have in the form of pics. Also, you might see if you are insured at cost or replacement value, replacement value being better, especially if you've had them a while.

The biggest difference between your homeowners and a rider/seperate policy are covered perils and deductibles.

The vast majority of owners are probably just fine with just the homeowner's policy. However, if you live in a $50,000 house and have $30,000 worth of pinball machines... well then you are "self-insured" for a lot of that stuff.

Sorry to revive this after so long but I'm curious about one aspect of insuring pins. I can take pictures and video of my pins. However, I have no receipts for most of them to show price paid. As a collectible, values vary greatly by condition and popularity. A MM in great shape is around 10k and a NGG in great shape is around 3k. Both made around the same time but wildly different in value.

Does anyone have a good way to document replacement value or appraise pins? The boston pinball list tracking ebay sales and the pinball price guides are a starting point but I think they are usually underestimating market levels.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

You would just have to show credible evidence of market value at the time of loss. eBay auction closes, listed sales on the internet for that machine, etc....

Good question. I recently switched insurance companies and increased my personal contents to cover my pins. Im in the process of documenting the serial numbers and overall condition and plan to keep that off site. State Farm needed appraisals for pins valued at more than 5K. Documenting the new pins are no issue but what about the 20yr old classics? Just whom would be qualified? Last thought...with prices increasing so quickly these appraisals should probably be performed regularly.

Yeah, Dallas area is stupid.

So, my property backs up to a creek. First four years I lived there, I had to have NO flood insurance. Keep in mind when I say that it backs up to the creek, 10 feet beyond my wall there is a 20+ foot vertical drop down to the creek bed which under normal circumstances is a half-inch deep stream...

FEMA got all uppity because of the Trinity levees being crap, nevermind that I'm 15 miles north of them and they will never in a million years affect any area near my place.... they redid the flood plain maps. Now, I have to have flood insurance, while none of the condos adjacent to mine, even on the SAME LEVEL have to. 1000/year in the crapper over something that will never happen. That creek, even in the biggest storms we've had in the last 10 years, has never even been halfway up that creek wall.

So how do you get an appraisal? Who is a qualified expert in values?

eBay sales is one gauge, fair or not, of where transactions happened. Other sites with FS posts wouldn't work because there is no sale price record.

Ebay sales, book value, insurers are used to dealing with collectable items. As noted, policies differ in some aspects, but you can always just call your agent/broker/insurer and ask. I did, and my contents value would be ample if I was to lose everything.

Where I think the separate rider would come into play more is for people with collections of high end restored machines, where they are at the high end of the value range for that machine. Establishing that value from the onset in this type of coverage is a more sound way to insure that type of collection, as if agreed and insured, there is no haggling or having to prove that it's a 8k TZ and not a 4K one, which may be difficult after a fire for example.

if the unthinkable happened....wouldnt pinside be a place where values could be established by an adjuster? There is quite extensive information to establish value here....no?

I personally would LOVE to value my machines by pinside FS posts.

My agent says that pinball machines fall under "electronic devices" and thus have a limited value of $2500 - just like cameras and computers.

Get a separate rider - or you will be sorry when your house burns down.

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