Household insurance for dolls?

I looked into it before (in Ireland) and was told I needed a collector's insurance plan. Couldn't afford one at the time but must look into it again! My dolls are collectively worth more than my car I think

 

Its a little different for each insurance policy, and I'm sure it depends on just how big (and how much) your collection is but you should have an available spot to list high priced items. We are allowed so much for "high priced items" that are listed on our insurance. Guitars, Gaming Systems, etc that we have serial numbers and information on to prove its worth. Some insurances also just have parts where you can claim hobby expenses. Its a little less general but you input a sum of how much your hobby collection is worth when they're calculating your premiums. To be honest, its probably best to talk with the agency and tell them flat out "I collect dolls (or if you're embarrassed call them like, figurines, sculptures, whatever makes you feel better but still has a resemblance of what they are) and I want to make sure they are covered. What are my options?"

I'm not sure about the UK, so hopefully someone can better help you if it is any difference. My knowledge is only based on insuring them through our renters insurance and asking if there would be any difference when we moved into a permanent home.

 

It will be different for each insurance carrier, the laws governing insurance vary from country to country, and often even from province to province (state to state for Americans) within a country. The best thing to do is to ask the insurance carrier(s) you're getting quotes from, to see what your options are. It may also differ if you remove the dolls from your home on a regular or semi-regular basis or if you just keep them strictly within your home. My insurance provides coverage for my dolls as "art" within my home, but doesn't cover them if I take them out. However, I _do_ have insurance on my photography equipment that covers it both inside and outside my home. Another thing you will want to consider is the deductible. If the deductible is worth more than the item you want to replace, you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. I would never insure my dolls for coverage outside my home, because the deductible would be more than any individual doll is worth. Another consideration is the _kind_ of damage you're insuring against. Some policies do not cover certain types of damage, such as floods or accidental damage by either you or a third party. You'll want to check with the individual carriers about the type of coverage the insured items will have, and the exceptions to eligibility for coverage or claims. Hope this helps!

 

Mine are insured as part of general contents, which is within the house only. I just need some evidence of ownership, that is receipts and/or photos. There is a limit on the maximum value of a single item, which I think was around $5k, but that doesn't bother me.

The point of insuring my collection was against fire, theft or vandals. Trying to claim for a single item would not be worth the effort, but it would be worth it for the entire collection.

 

My experience is you need separate coverage. My personal policy covers collections up to $1000, and it doesn't allow increases to that coverage. I'm in America thou. Insurance barely covers anything anymore it seems. I looked into a separate collection policy but never followed through with purchase.

 

Typically high valued items don't matter exactly what they are...you'd get a general amount of coverage and then list what those items are in that coverage. For example: We have a high valued items part of our insurance for up to...5K I think it was. (I'm not 100 percent certain) My husbands guitars are listed there, as well as a few other rare collectibles and one or two gaming systems, of course our dolls are slowly being added as we get them. The Computers and Televisions are insured under our electronics portion of our insurance. I needed to be able to provide serial numbers for the guitars and gaming systems, as well as pictures of the items. I will need updated pictures of the items in order to file a claim since we first got our insurance like, five years ago. Basically once I year I go take pictures of our expensive things. With the dolls, it wouldn't hurt to keep the receipts because they're not 'popular' collectibles. The insurance agency might try to go put in the dolls company/name in a search engine and try to give you the lowest price possible. Also make sure you ask them if its replacement value or just the value of the item...as that will also vary greatly. If its just the value of the item you could end up getting what they find on a second hand market versus the brand new price of the doll.

Honestly, sitting down and talking with the insurance agency you go through for your home insurance is great. Sometimes, if they do not insure such things (For example, home owners insurance that does not do a collectibles insurance) they may be able to recommend someone they seem to work with on a professional level when dealing with claims.

 

you need a collectibles insurance plan. it's specifically for high value collections that can fluctuate in value. your homeowners insurance won't cover huge expenses and will have a set amount based on retail value only.

here is an article about some of the basics.

How to Insure Your Sports Card and Memorabilia Collection

 

The best thing you can do is talk to your insurance company. People can spend all day telling you their own experiences, but none of that matters if the day comes that you need to file a claim, and you find out that you had the wrong policy and your dolls aren't covered.

Make an appointment with your insurance agent, and take some receipt examples with you to see what's acceptable. They'll tell you which policy you need to buy in order to insure your dolls under their rules.

 

Thank you for making this post because I was just wondering this myself. With all the flooding in Texas It's a really great question to ask an insurance agent

 

Over time, we might all need to know: Besides renters' or homeowners' insurance and photos, what else can we do to protect against loss?

 

I have insurance through American Collectors Insurance for my entire doll collection. My normal renters insurance doesn't like to insure larger items that are within collections, so my insurance agent got me on one of those plans instead! As long as none of my dolls individually were worth over $2,000, I was able to fully insure my whole collection through them for a pretty low cost. I think if you have anything individually over $2,000 it might cost a bit more.

Otherwise, I currently don't really do any other security measures since I just live in an apartment. I always lock my door and never tell anyone but my close friends how much my dolls are worth.

 

True story: I once accidentally bought a BJD that had been stolen years prior from another Den of Angels member. I was able to track down the original owner because she had made a record of her doll in the Database here! I think the Doll Profile section could be used the same way, and I would encourage those who are able to upload photos of their BJDs to the forum to do so in either the Database or Profiles. It's a great way to keep a digital record of your crew and also let it be easily accessible to other hobbyists if anything should happen to them.

 

Good records, home security, if you live with roomies (especially people you're just rooming with and not like lifelong friends) get a locking doll cabinet, and never let anyone who isn't a very close friend or trustworthy family member know how much the doll is worth. When they find out how much it's worth, maybe emphasize in casual mention that you'd need to be a community member in order to know where to sell it and that the community is globally very small and would recognize your dolls. (whether this is totally true or not. I mean my dolls are almost all home faceups and modded cuz that's just my style, whereas if you have a factory faceup version of popular sculpt like a Minifee Chloe, proving that particular one is your own might be harder...)

 

I don't have special insurance on my dolls. I probably should, but I'm the type of collector who enjoys most dolls for a short time (a year or less), then sells or trades them to try out something different. Since I don't usually keep most dolls long term, I'm not sure how to go about insuring them, or if I even should. Except for a few faves, my collection changes every year, multiple times. I almost always have a doll on the way in or the way out, so it would be such a huge hassle to change the policy monthly to stay updated.

To keep them safe, I mostly keep them stored in one room, with the door shut. Casual house guests never see them, because only the bedrooms are upstairs and there's no reason for most people to ever be upstairs in my house. Friends know I own them, but except for my hobby friends, most don't know what they're worth, or even what they're called, so there's no temptation. I also don't let people in my house unless I trust them 100% or I am right by them the entire time, no chance for theft. If I take the dolls out, they stay in my sight or with someone I trust the whole time, never left unattended. They're never even left in the car, unless I'm just running inside somewhere and can keep the car in sight too. I keep a list of all of my dolls (complete with their sculpt, color, year made and price I paid for them), plus pictures of them in the Profiles here, on my Instagram, on my laptop and phone, so if needed, I could provide photos and proof of ownership.

 

I’ve heard tale of people using Bluetooth GPS trackers inside their dolls, but you have to keep those charged and such, and I don’t know anyone’s who has personally done it. They are quite small nowadays and much more affordable. My local Best Buy sells 5-packs for around $40 CAD if I remember correctly? I was looking at them over the holidays.

 

Tile guarantees that their trackers will last a year without the need to charge them. After that, you can purchase a newer model at a discount. One retails at $20, four at $50 for that brand. They're quite small (about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches), so you can probably fit one in a doll's head with no issues. I'll be ordering a four pack myself in a few months just so I can have peace of mind when I take my dolls to conventions.

Edit: Sorry, big correction on the price. That's the price when you purchase them online directly from Tile, and it's 50% off of the MSRP at brick and mortar stores.

 

I've never heard of GPS trackers! I want to put one on my kid! I also want to put one on his bike now..... losers keep on stealing my kid's bike! Grrrr..... Good idea for dolls that are going to be in a crowd of people you don't know as well. Most people wouldn't know their worth or how to sell them, but sometimes people steal things just because they can.

I'm at the point now that I do need a special appraisal and insurance for my doll collection. A few aren't probably worth a buck to replace. Not all are BJDs but one of them .... you really don't want to know what he would cost to replace! I'd be heartbroken forever because I never could afford to replace him! I will let you all know what that is like once I have it done.