Author Topic: Poster insurance  (Read 5671 times)

Offline Monster_A_GoGo

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Poster insurance
« on: December 16, 2015, 12:57:02 AM »
This may be a topic somewhere else, but I couldn't find it.

The other day, i sent my mother a link to the little Q&A I did to promoter the new poster book from Gemstone publishing. She knew I had been collecting posters since I was a kid, but she was floored. She had NO idea of the sheer number of posters I owned or of their possible value. Up until getting on APF, I never really talked about the hobby with anyone i knew because i didn't want to bore/alienate them. Sure, if they came to my house they saw the posters on my walls. But that's it. Unless they asked, i didn't go into detail. No one at work knows about my collection, my extended family and friends don;'t really know, people from previous jobs, nursing school, etc. have no clue about it really.

So my mother said that i should get some insurance on the posters. That is actually a good idea. I had thought about it, but until i became a nurse it wasn't financially feasible...and then I was digging myself out of debt, etc. Now is actually a good time to get insurance. I'm still living in the shack-o-rama (no heat in here...brr!), but this will be my last winter in this dump (one way or another). If there was a fire or flood or earthquake, etc.  the ONLY thing i would really be upset about losing would be my posters.

So my mom was going to talk to her insurance guy and have him give me a call. He said I'd have to get them appraised--which is understandable, except where in the heck am i going to find someone locally to appraise all of my thousands of posters? There's NOBODY outside of the LA or possibly Bay Area that can do that...and to get all of my posters to one of those locations would be costly and time consuming. I don't want to sound like a know-it-all (because I am NOT!!) or like a poster guru, but i really do NOT think there is anyone in my area or the surrounding outlying area who has as many posters as i do (nearly 40 years of collecting. Hello!?) or who knows about posters (and my knowledge is very limited...but i've been involved in this for 4 decades) like I do. I've been in this hobby all alone for so long. i have looked and looked for others with poster interests locally for decades--there's no one else.

So while my local insurance guy is pondering how to get these things appraised (and, oh god, the idea of having to pull out all of the boxes and tubes, etc), does any one have any ideas on what to do? Does anyone not living in a major metropolis have poster insurance on their collection? I'm just wondering what this might entail...

Thanks!
« Last Edit: December 16, 2015, 01:14:50 AM by Monster_A_GoGo »
Let me introduce myself: http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9291.0.html View my collection thread (if you DARE!!!):  http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9480.0.html  See it on my blog (withOUT Photobucket watermarks) here:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5730339618306790065#allposts/src=sidebar CHEERS!

Online 50s

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2015, 01:14:42 AM »
Firstly, welcome here to Posterholics Anonymous!

I take about 10 photos of every poster and also record a screen grab of each poster receipt and the store/eBay page for that poster I bought. So I have plenty of digital documentation for each poster so I would hope providing this to an appraiser will be sufficient. I know next to nothing about insurance


Offline jedgerley

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2015, 01:47:25 AM »
I was just talking about this and I too was semi-overwhelmed when the insurance dude said they need to be appraised. Is it ethical to become an appraiser and appraise your own stuff lol? And how much would it cost to have them appraised I wonder? It would take soooooo much time. And if something did happen I am betting the insurance company would put up a fight sending you the full value. One option for this is to keep them stored at a climate controlled storage facility that would cover the loss if their business is liable. Like one of the large storage franchises. They have limits i am guessing per bin so it would cost more per month but would be an option if the initial appraisal costs are super expensive. Did your agent have a guesstimate of the appraisal fee?

Offline Monster_A_GoGo

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2015, 01:57:44 AM »
STEVE: I started doing that not too long ago (saving the auction page). I used to print them out and have a small mountain of printouts. But even those aren't that great. if youy looks at values just 6 or 7 years ago, they were nothing compared to today.

JASON:  No, the insurance guy has not even contacted me yet. i am sure he is bewildered about how to find someone to appraise them. The appraisal fee though, i'm sure, will be staggering. I know you have quite a collection. It would take days to go through everything. Jeepers!
Let me introduce myself: http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9291.0.html View my collection thread (if you DARE!!!):  http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9480.0.html  See it on my blog (withOUT Photobucket watermarks) here:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5730339618306790065#allposts/src=sidebar CHEERS!

Offline MoviePosterBid.com

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2015, 02:06:42 AM »
Collectibles Insurance Agency

Movieposterbid.com is the FIRST All-Movie Poster Auction Site. We're not #1, but we try harder
"LIKE" MoviePosterBid.com on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Movieposterbidcom

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Online 50s

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2015, 02:11:18 AM »
I have most of my collection on a website. I reckon, as I'm friends with a local poster restorer, he could look at the site and estimate a current value. I wonder if that would work? He has also sighted the bigger ticket posters.

I think most of my posters haven't gone up much in value. Seems most just stagnate around the same price year after year. 


Offline jpicken

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2015, 10:39:20 PM »
My insurance company suggested these guys.
http://americancollectors.com

Seems pretty solid based upon what I could find out about them, but your mileage may vary.


Offline okiehawker

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2018, 11:52:09 PM »
Collectibles Insurance Agency
Yep, What Richie said, though now they are called Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC.
https://collectinsure.com
Okie

Offline Monster_A_GoGo

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2018, 12:32:07 AM »
Oooo thank you, Oakie!
Let me introduce myself: http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9291.0.html View my collection thread (if you DARE!!!):  http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,9480.0.html  See it on my blog (withOUT Photobucket watermarks) here:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5730339618306790065#allposts/src=sidebar CHEERS!

Offline mattsw

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2018, 06:53:23 AM »
Thanks for the company name.  I ran into the same problem with my insurance company.  There is a local gentleman who operates an established poster business, who would be a great source for valuing my collection.  But my insurance company (Erie) says that whoever I would get to appraise the cards/posters would have to have letters behind their name via some sort of certification.  At that point I was stuck.

Matthew

Online marklawd

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #10 on: March 09, 2018, 07:13:36 AM »
....whoever I would get to appraise the cards/posters would have to have letters behind their name via some sort of certification. 
Matthew

It would be interesting to know what organisation the appraiser would have to be a member of to provide valuations acceptable to this insurer.

Mark

Offline okiehawker

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2018, 10:55:47 AM »
It would be interesting to know what organisation the appraiser would have to be a member of to provide valuations acceptable to this insurer.

Mark
Collectibles Insurance Services has never asked me for an appraisal.  Check out their website above.  I only have to list/schedule any individual items I feel are worth $5,000 or more. The yearly cost to me for the insurance is 0.34 % of my level of coverage (so, about 1/3 of one percent).  Okie

Offline erik1925

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #12 on: March 09, 2018, 12:46:05 PM »
Collectibles Insurance Services has never asked me for an appraisal.  Check out their website above.  I only have to list/schedule any individual items I feel are worth $5,000 or more. The yearly cost to me for the insurance is 0.34 % of my level of coverage (so, about 1/3 of one percent).  Okie

hi okie..

Interesting ....the insurer wants you to list/schedule posters that you feel are worth $5K or more? How does that part work? Is the requirement/rule that lax, based merely on what a collector thinks or assumes a certain poster might be worth?

Or, in the case of a claim, if a poster that was said to be worth, let's say $7K, was damaged or stolen, would the insurer have to have some kind of backing documents, such as previous auction or sales records, a receipt, or that kind of thing, to turn into the insurance company, as part of the claim?


-Jeff

Offline okiehawker

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #13 on: March 09, 2018, 10:00:50 PM »
hi okie..

Interesting ....the insurer wants you to list/schedule posters that you feel are worth $5K or more? How does that part work? Is the requirement/rule that lax, based merely on what a collector thinks or assumes a certain poster might be worth?

Or, in the case of a claim, if a poster that was said to be worth, let's say $7K, was damaged or stolen, would the insurer have to have some kind of backing documents, such as previous auction or sales records, a receipt, or that kind of thing, to turn into the insurance company, as part of the claim?
Hi Jeff,  I don't want to get caught up too much in the electronic forum semantics of my specific word choice.  I think we know the potential pitfalls there, eh? I make my best estimate based on my 40 year collecting knowledge, records, previous sales (if they exist), advice from other collectors/experts etc. that ultimately leads to what I "feel" the collectible is worth.  I'm sure the kinds of documents you mentioned would also help with a claim.  I wouldn't call it "lax" because if you artificially inflate your value, you are just paying for coverage you don't need, and this is what these insurance folks do for a living everyday (I'm pretty sure they can smell fair and not fair several miles away).  A good honest estimate is in the insured's best interest as well. You have to list/schedule the items valued over $5,000 for them to cover those specific items at a higher individual value.  Always best to talk with them about your specific needs and concerns to get the answers first hand specific to your collection ("your" meaning any collector).  They have a great reputation in the collectibles insurance arena from my study, though always wise to study for yourself as well.  Okie

Offline erik1925

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #14 on: March 09, 2018, 11:14:25 PM »
Got it. Thanks, okie.

Was just curious, since it sounded like folks could assign any value they wanted. Lax was the wrong word to use, but I was meaning if it there were specific rules when it came to assigning a value to something.

cheers

« Last Edit: March 09, 2018, 11:19:05 PM by erik1925 »


-Jeff

Offline okiehawker

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Re: Poster insurance
« Reply #15 on: March 10, 2018, 12:14:13 AM »
Got it. Thanks, okie.

Was just curious, since it sounded like folks could assign any value they wanted. Lax was the wrong word to use, but I was meaning if it there were specific rules when it came to assigning a value to something.

cheers
All good, Jeff! Thank goodness for several sources to draw on today to make an educated estimate of collection value. Okie