Great question! After hearing of the BBB stolen in TX, I'd love to hear what others have been quoted. Or is it at all worth it?

I called my agent and was told I was covered. No extra insurance needed.

Same here...
Replacement value is included with my standard policy up to like 300k....so I think I'm good

Me too. Especially since I didn't waste my money on furniture.

Some good threads on this already:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-insurance
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/renters-insurance-for-pinball-machines
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/could-pinball-machines-be-covered-by-insurance
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/adding-pins-to-home-insurance-policy
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lets-talk-insurance
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/best-way-to-get-pins-appraised-for-homeowners-insurance

Ha!...
My pins are probably 80% of my 'content value'..maybe more.

Are your deductibles low enough to cover most pinballs? I'm asking this because if they were higher, wouldn't it be wise to get some sort of gap insurance to make up the difference? I'm on order for MMr, Hobbit and TWD, I want to make sure that I'm insured properly.

Mine are listed specifically in the policy, good to go!

The GAP insurance to cover the difference between your deductible and what you can afford to pay out of pocket is called your credit card. There shouldn't be a difference at all. If you can't afford to cover your deductible with cash (or a credit card) you should lower your deductible. Yes you pay a higher premium for a lower deductible (which is essentially the same as lowering that gap) but you lower your exposure at the same time. So instead of having to come up with say the first $1,000 after a loss you can instead lower that to $500 plus the monthly premium increase of let's say $20/mo. Your insurance company is essentially gambling that you won't have a loss in the next 25 months and hopes to collect that extra $20/mo for years and years to come (thus more than covering their additional $500 exposure).

That said it generally pays to have your deductible as high as you can possibly afford , not only for the premium savings but also to prevent you from being tempted to turn in a small claim. Your home or renters insurance policies are designed as a catastrophe policy. In almost all instances you'll receive a substantial rate increase next year (and lasting 3-5 years) if you turn in a theft claim with your insurance company, be it large or small. Let's look further.

Say your $2500 pin is stolen and you have a $500 deductible, you're going to get $2000 from them. Plus you're going to get $600/yr rate increase for 3 years. Your insurance company is going to get back $1800 of the $2000 they gave you. $1800+$500 means you actually covered $2300 of your $2500 loss. But that's okay, that's what insurance is for. It has allowed your to spread out your loss or exposure over three years instead of cough up $2500 all at once. Now let's say you have a $1000 deductible; you're gonna get $1500 from them plus the same $600/yr increase. So $1000+$1800=$2800 that you actually spent/paid/are out for your $2500 pin. But wait, you're smart and you do the math before you turn in the claim (or cash their check). Since you are already on the hook for the first $1000 you decide to cough up the rest yourself and don't turn in the claim. And your rates don't go up. The $1500 extra sux but you've been paying $20/mo less for your higher deductible policy for a decade or more and you've saved as much or more than that in premium savings over the years.

Knowing just how high of a deductible you can afford and asking your agent exactly how a claim might impact your premiums is an important part of making sure your pins are properly covered.

Man..sounds like you need to look for a new insurance company..

I had a $12000 claim ($500 deducible) when a tree fell on my house and shed..my insurance went up less than $20 the next year. An additional $600 would have darn near tripled the amount I paid per year

You do need to take in account though that most pins are $10,000 by Christmas !! LOL

Nah. Oklahoma is the most expensive state in the country for home insurance. A $2k annual premium is probably pretty average. Most companies are going to surcharge you 20-40% for a theft claim. Which a tree falling isn't. The takeaway was supposed to be deciding on the best deductible for you.

Damn..
I guess in NY we get stuff on taxes..but catch a break on insurance coverage

Insurance agent here. I can almost gaurantee you are not covered. There is caps on most limits and collectibles are always a case by case basis. Keep in mind that your agent isn't the one who writes the check to you in the event of a loss. That is going to be the underwriters with the final say from the adjuster. In the Big Bang theft thread Vid stated that a friend's stolen game was worth $1000 for electronics parts and $1000 for commercial equipment. That would not be for each game but an aggregate limit. Each company is subject to change but I doubt they would give you near what you were expecting. I have been building a personal articles policy for myself to cover my games against all losses. Hell I could put a burnt up coil as a claim if I wanted to.

EDIT: I hope that didn't come off as rude, quite the opposite, I just want to make sure you are completely covered.

Has anyone used these folks: http://collectinsure.com/ I just received an estimate of - $228/year for $48,500 of coverage for my collection.

I took out a policy with them. Haven't had to use it yet and hopefully never will.

Thanks Norcal they seemed decent enough in talking to them, hopefully I wont need to use it either. My homeowners insurance Allstate really wasn't making it easy to figure out whats covered and whats not etc.

That is an excellent rate. My only problem with them is their exclusions sections of their policies are pretty vague as what is not covered last time I looked into them.
That's just my take.

I snapped pictures of all my pins then printed them.I then printed the "Splash" page here on Pinside that shows value.I then wrote the serial numbers down of each game on each page.I attached them with the pics and gave copies to my insurance company and also kept copies for myself.
You know insurance companies,they love taking money but when it comes time to pay out you better have proof!

Todd - For the love of god - you picked up your WOZ at MY INSURANCE AGENCY and didn't ask me ??? lol....

So - I will chime in and agree with other insurance agent that no matter how many of you THINK you are covered you are NOT... you need a specific policy for collectibles - they are NOT covered on your homeowners policy for anything other than it's depreciated value... a MM from 1997 they will probably pay you $ 200 for... Your agent who says they are covered does not understand our hobby, trust me. I've been preaching this on RGP and Pinside for years to sometimes deaf ears. Take your chances if you must, but you need a good 'collectible' policy -they exist for a reason - because there are limitations on a homeowners policy. Similar to a flood policy - they exist because the homeowners policy does not provide coverage.

www.collectinsure.com is who I have my own personal policy for my arcade stuff and my sports collectibles - I do not sell for them or have any association with them... I will read this thread later and if I have anything valuable to add I will chime back in.

Joe Newhart
PinballSTAR Amusements (and insurance agency owner)

Use them - that is who I use and i'm an insurance agent ! Nice snag finding that - I didn't see your post until now... This is what everyone needs to do !

Check the exclusions and see if you see any red flags. I would love to be wrong since their premiums are so great.

Can you post here... I don't have my policy right with me or I can check later or answer any specific questions... I'd be happy to review. Or even call them - they provide really good service, trust me I drive them nuts updating my collection list each year and it gets processed flawlessly every year with a smile.

I would think all exclusions are standard stuff... I think I have reviewed them in the past... AND it covers flood too FYI, which was a nice surprise...

Exclusions - let me put it this way - vague works in your favor... Most policies cover EVERYTHING unless excluded, so if they aren't very specific with their exclusions then there is not much of an arguement to exclude a certain situation / claim.... The exclusions is where companies will nickel and dime you taking things away - so if the exclusion list isn't very long or specific, that's a good thing.

Again, I am NOT an agent for this company or brokerage house - Specific questions you have need to be asked of them, but I have had no issues in my many years with them (No claims, mind you)...

You know what, I think you're right. That brings to memory a stipulation by the commissioners that if its vague it is supposed to go into the insured's favor. At least that's what sounds familiar when I was getting my license. Is that what you are going with? That sounds pretty awesome if that's the case. I'll have to look into them for myself after I talk to them a bit.

I've got extra insurance on mine through my business - since it's the 'officecade'.

We just had an extra $100,000 of coverage put on our plan just for my games. It's only cost me a extra $100 a year.

I can sleep better now - signed up, seems like a decent company - I can even travel with my full collection to shows etc. and still be insured - if its under 60k burglary and theft is automatically included.

Good idea thanks

I too use collect insure, but for my firearms. I agree it never hurts to have some additional coverage for collectibles. I diasgree however with your $200 assertion. Most good home policies offer replacement cost coverage on your personal property, pins included. That means you get enough to replace your destroyed/stolen item. It's fairly easy to substantiate the replacement cost, just show your adjuster several for sale ads or completed sales here or on ebay.