I didn’t select an option. I have a completely separate policy. It’s around $750 a year for 16 games valued at around 50k.

All I had to do was make up values, send pictures and serial numbers if I could find them. If it was a game I bought NIB, I sent a copy of my invoice too.

For Pincinnati we do not have any games owned by the company, we simply have liability coverage if anything were to happen at the event.

I checked my State Farm homeowners policy and couldn’t find any exclusions that applied to pinball machines or similar gaming machines. Also didn’t see any supplemental riders available that would apply like they have for computers, guns and jewelry. And asked an agent for a former insurer a few years ago and they didn’t see a reason they wouldn’t be covered under the standard policy. Am I missing something?

Yep. You’re missing that if you lose everything, you’re risking that they won’t be covered. They will pull a random number out of a hat to give you for coverage. In my scenario, I said I want to be paid X amount, and I want them covered if the loss it due to anything, theft, fire, flood, anything. That’s what they set me up with.

Every homeowners policy I've had contained a multiplier value for for all contents based on the value of the home insured, like 2.5x. So in a full loss the number is known in advance - value of the house x 3.5. You need to make sure the value for the house is adjusted for your current value.

If your contents are more valuable than that then you need an additional rider. But this doesn't need to be specifically for pinball machines.

In the OP's original post, worried about a sump pump in the basement, flooding and water damage is a whole other story. Partial losses involving theft, water or wind are a PITA.

I'm not sure I'd worry about a single machine, and not sure you will ever find someone to go through the hassle of underwriting a policy for a single machine.

Yes, you’re missing a document that says in writing the thing you’re asking about will be covered for this many dollars in case of loss.

This has been discussed before. Search around for the other threads. Lots of good information from agents and people who dealt with claims.

Tried getting a rider to the usual home owners insurance and reading the
fine print, it didn't cover much of anything so didn't bother. Insurance
companies suck and prey on people that don't read the fine print.

If you don't mind sharing, who is your provider for the separate policy? As far as I understand our homeowners distinctly states that games are not covered, so we are in the market for a standalone policy. Thanks in advance!

The way prices are now some collections need 24/7 armed protection. Lol I have a few clients with 250k or more in pin collections in today's market.

State Farm. Chose them because that is who we have for everything else. Just added to our already auto draft monthly premium. Easy peasy.

FYI...your premium of $750 per year on ~50k of games seems high to me.

I’ve heard that before. I’m fine with overpaying for the convenience of being with the same provider and same transaction each month.

Autopay tech makes this a fairly moot point, btw (in terms of multiple transactions). Not a huge amount of money (so it's no big deal), however I just hate paying too much for insurance in particular. Just me. Other, more tangible items I don't have a problem "paying up" for.

Here is a previous thread from 5 years ago that discusses this exact subject.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/home-owners-insurance-covers-pinball-machines

Gord

Unless I’m overpaying by 5x-6x, I really don’t care.

You gotta think too. I’m transporting some or all of my games to shows and tournaments multiple times a year. I’d say mine are put into danger more than others.

I have a policy with Collectibles insurance for my games. https://collectinsure.com/

$177 annual premium for $25k of insurance

I called up my homeowners insurance company and they told me no need with my policy. I explained I have a valuable video game collection and a lot of pinball machines valued at a nice amount of money. They explained the coverage I had and that it would cover that amount. She just told me best to take pictures of everything and save them online. I have a friend that has a seperate policy for his wifes jewelry so I figured it would be similar but this person told me no. I even called again a month later to a different person and got same answer.

I was also worried about water damage/flooding as my pins are in the basement. I have a dual sump system, with battery back up.

I also use https://americancollectors.com/ to insure my machines separately. It is around $600 annually for about 100k of coverage. I had to send pictures and values, and make sure I keep the records updated as I switch games

Using American Collectors as well. Homeowners policy would not cover my arcades/pins, nor guitars, and was promptly advised by a friend in the insurance industry to get my butt in gear or risk losing all of it due to any unfortunate emergency.

The homeowners policy (at least the one I have) had a fixed amount to it, which covered the house and some additional assets, but not nearly enough. Do your homework if you are on the fence about this issue.

These threads pop up every few weeks. People mean the best and intend to be helpful but the reality is that insurance is a legal contract between you and your insurance company. All contracts differ. There are also specific laws in each state that may impact coverage.

The worst thing you can do is assume others' experience/contract (that you aren't reading) is the same thing as the one you are paying for.

The best thing you can do is contact your agent and get their advice/opinion on your coverage IN WRITING. Your insurance agent can be legally liable for the opinion he/she gives you.

Get it in writing.

LTG : )