Is your doll insured?

My husband has told me that in case of a fire or tornado or whatever, the dolls are covered under home insurance. However, we don't have full coverage on the cars, so....I'm thinking they would NOT be covered if stolen out of a car.

I'm not going to get into the debate about whether or not it's wrong to leave a doll (or child or pet or whatever) in the car, but I, personally, would never EVER leave a doll unattended in a car. The only time I have ever done so was when I had Hansel with me, stopped at a gas station in a very familiar area, ran in to grab something and the entire front of the store was glass, I was parked right outside the door and could watch my car the entire time and be there in a split second if anybody came near it. So...technically, he was alone in the car, but not really unattended. In my old apartment, several cars were broken into for CD collections, and a doll is worth much more. I know people that have broken into cars to steal stupidly cheap things. Not only that, but I would also be worried about weather and its affect on the doll. So I'm extra cautious, since my policy wouldn't cover them in a car incident.

 

Same for my girl. My friend's dolls are covered since she lives with us under the homeowners. Since my stuff would blow through most of the homeowner's for my parents, I took out a separate renters that covers my stuff. Plus an additional collector's just for my limited doll.

It was quite funny since I had to take photos of the doll, give them a copy of the threads/PMs/Receipts used to purchase her and be able to update prices every few months since it is for replacement value. The irony was when one of the ladies I work with asked for me to bring her in, she was so stunned at how pretty that she understood why I would have a doll worth so much.

Now she collects BJDs!

 

That I agree with, definitely. The rest.... I think it's a shame that we have to assume that everyone we look at is a sexual deviant. Or that we have to be so paranoid as to view everyone as a hardened criminal, who'll mug and kill you as soon as they look at you.

 

Life experience'll do that to you. ;3

 

To those who replied to me: I think I hsave like, two standard dolls? The rest all LE's and many are just really hard to find and afford. I got my Luna head for $500 so many years ago, now I'd have to may more than twice that to replace her. So, I'd have to be insuring the LE's for the market value, which I haven't a clue how to do it.

@Cars - This is why I am glad I now have a mini SUV. I can leave my dolls in a case w/o them overheating most of the time. Again, I live in PA and we just don't get hot very much.

 

All of our dolly stuff is covered with a special rider on our homeowners insurance policy. Many, if not all companies require one for antiques, collector items, jewelry, coin collections, etc. We provide the insurance company with photographs, copies of website pages showing make, model, price, etc. Whenever I make a major addition to the doll stuff, I photograph it and add it onto a spreadsheet.

Without that kind of proof, you're not likely to get reimbursed properly if at all. The company isn't going to question your loss of a coffee table or a vacumn cleaner in a fire or theft, but they will question a $$$$ collection of dolls and accessories without proof of ownership. Especially when most people don't even understand what a BJD is!

Even though Texas policies have a *huge* deductible, we have the dolls separately insured. If one doll is stolen or lost, we'd have to replace it out of pocket as it would never meet the deductible. If they're all stolen, lost or the house burns down, that deductible isn't going to come close to covering all the stuff we'd lose.

 

I rent and have been planning to buy renter's insurance. I'll have to see about adding dolls into that policy.

 

Mods, if this needs to be moved, please move it! I'm not sure where it belongs!

Ok, I know I need to get together information on all my dolls. However, what all would one need for this purpose? A friend says receipts or bank statements. However, some are so old, 2005, that I couldn't find stuff like that. And one company no longer even sells one line. So would I use current prices? Thanks for any help!

Ok, so there is a way on Paypal to find receipts. So I guess now, do you have insurance on your dolls? I found a place online that insures dolls so I'll likely go with them if the price isn't too high. Still, save your receipts! You never know when you might need it!

 

Maybe you might find something useful in this thread http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?130511-Is-your-doll-insured
I really should do something for my crew also...

 

I got an add on to my renters insurance. I keep my provider updated on the current costs of my dolls (I can use current marketplace prices, just have to save the web pages) and it only costs me 1% of their value each year to have them insured.

 

Ah thanks. A friend's house burned down and what they don't have receipts for, they weren't getting money for. But thanks! I'll check into all this when I can afford it.

 

How many of you have extra fire/home/tenant insurance to cover the value of your dolls? I know many of you have dolls worth more than $1500 each. Total up the value of the dolls you have (monetary, not sentimental) and see just how much your collection is worth. I bet you'll be surprised. Now consider the worst-case scenario: your home burns down, and all your dolls are destroyed. Could you afford to replace them? It doesn't cost that much extra to insure a collection and if the worst happens, at least you will be able to replace them.

 

Actually, many of us think about having extra insurance for our dolls. (see this link). I think it comes with the territory of having an expensive hobby .

My own dolls are covered with home insurance. The only problem is that although most of them are expensive, it's because of their resale value; not their original price. Should something happen to them - let's hope not! - the insurance alone isn't enough to cover for the expenses.

 

That's why it's a good idea to add a rider to your policy, covering a collection. Usually there's a limit (in Canada, anyway) of $25,000 in value should they be lost. Also would cover theft as well as loss by fire, and if they were stolen say at a con.

 

Ok, that was a long 16 page thread read.

I called my homeowner's insurance provider, Liberty Mutual, just now. The lady told me that my policy includes a 'collections' clause that will cover a MAXIMUM of $2,500, less my deductible. She said I would need a specialty policy, known as a "Inland Marine" to cover collections valued at higher amounts. She said that Liberty Mutual DOES NOT currently offer this kind of specialty policy or addition to my homeowners policy.

Looks like I'll be looking into the only other collection insurers mentioned in the thread http://www.americancollectors.com/ and http://www.collectinsure.com/

The agent also said I should be able to use google, searching 'inland marine' and my area? I dunno, that sounds crazy, but I'll update with any progress (the purchase price for my 15 doll strong collection, for the dolls alone, is about $7,000)

EDIT:
Both of the linked sites have online quote capabilities. American Collectors came out to an annual premium of $65 and Collect Insure to $47. I don't know the specific differences between these two insurers, and I based it on the cost of the dolls, not any accessories, so I am unable to choose an insurance just yet.

EDITEDIT:
That Liberty Mutual representative was full of crap. I googled 'Inland Marine Insurance' and was directed to pages on State Farm, Allstate, and Nationwide. These are some quotes from those pages: "State Farm® can offer the comprehensive coverage needed to cover most business property including contractors' tools and equipment and the property of others." "In fact, depending on the type of small business you own, Inland Marine Coverage could be key to protecting business property. [allstate]"
Sounds to me that 'inland marine' is intended for business owners, not collections. At no point did I say I was in the business of dolls

 

I don't have a doll yet, but when I do get her I don't think I'll have her insured,
cause getting stuff insured confuses me >.>
Still live with the parents and I guess I'd have to get it under their house insurance or something.
Unless there's some kinda separate insurance I could get, but then insurance costs money - 3-
I'd rather be extra careful with my future doll and spend my money on more doll things >.>

 

I didn't even know you could insure dolls. This is something to think about.

 

Hello Skyealloway,

I have no idea who you spoke to about your insurance but either they have no clue or they misunderstood you and what you are looking for. I work in Commercial Insurance and Inland Marine is used generally to insure contractor tools, photography equipment, and the like. What you'll want to ask about is Personal Property. I have my dolls insured under a personal property add-on with my renters and car insurance. If you have car insurance or renters/house insurance, contact your insurance agent and talk to them directly. Or even schedule an appointment and bring in a picture of your dolls so they know exactly what you want and what you're looking for. Some will ask you to prove price, some won't. I didn't have to produce receipts or anything with mine, simply list doll company name, type, and how much I want covered on each doll. It's not very expensive, I have 7 dolls on my policy at the moment and it runs me a grand $15-20 a year and if anything should happen to them, I don't have to pay a deductible because I pay for a separate coverage on them.

Also, be forewarned about thinking your dolls are covered on Renters or Home Owners policies. Some of these can have tricky language. There are Home Owners policies that EXCLUDE "collections" (and it will be up to the insurance company to define what a 'collection' is) or simply only be willing to pay out so much per collection. So if you have $5000-$6000 in dolls and you're robbed or your house burns down, they may only cut a check for $2500 as per the small print.

 

No, they are not. But i should do it

 

Exactly. I did call my home owners insurance, Liberty Mutual, directly, and they said that 'collections' are only covered up to $2,500 and that Liberty Mutual doesn't offer any add-ons to cover the higher cost. I'll need to get a different insurance just for the dolls at this point.