I'm looking to insure my coin collection after finding out that my homeowners insurance will only cover up to $250.00 and my collection is far more valuable(in the thousands) than what they will cover. So I'm wondering who would I go thru and what would the average costs be? I want to be able to have my collection covered. Any ideas?
Best insurance = Safety deposit box. I know there are companies that insure coins, but to be honest, unless you are in the 10s of thousands, the pricing might be a little steep. Like any insurance policy.....read the fine print. Its amazing how many things can disqualify claims.
DONT insure your collection through your homeowners insurance via an inland marine rider. Way too expensive, way too restrictive, and if you ever have a claim, your homeowners will skyrocket, even if you switch providers. Join the ANA. Then call Hugh Wood. SEE HERE AND HERE AND ONE MORE HUGH WOOD
Hugh Wood (and their primary competitor Collectibles Insurance, Inc.) are both highly regarded in the stamp trade; I happen to use C.I. Homeowner's is worthless for collectors like those on Coin Talk.
Once my collection exceeded the value of a good safe, it seemed like an obvious choice to buy one. Granted, safes can be stolen &/or broken into...but gauging strictly off of how long it took me to get the lunker inside... I know I certainly sleep a whole lot easier. I know you didn't ask about safes, for all I know you already own one. But if you don't...food for thought.
I wouldn't consider a safe deposit box as insurance under any circumstance. Banks are robbed daily, burn down weekly, and so on, and no bank I have ever heard of insures contents in SD boxes, especially cash, which most don't allow, and seeing as coins are cash, well, you'd be just as well off if not better off investing in a good safe.
It's absolutely true that banks do not insure the contents of safe deposit boxes and to rely on a bank to do so is unrealistic and would leave one to future disappointment. For me, the utility of a safe deposit box is that not only is it less likely to be broken into than my home, but my numismatic insurance rates are cut by 50% by keeping my collection in the bank.
...but while I hear about bank robberies almost daily in my large metropolitan area, I don't believe I've ever heard of a case where the robber demanded anything other than cash. SDBs certainly aren't daily targets! ...and, come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I heard of a bank burning down. Flooding, sure, but ours is at the top of a fairly tall hill...
Clearly, a bank robber can't get into the SDB's, because the bank does not have the second key. That's why if you lose one of your two keys, the bank requires a locksmith to get entry.
