Insurace general question

[Bassat]

Insurance is the only bet you'll ever make that only pays off if you lose. I carry minimal insurance on EVERYTHING. House, car, guns, cameras, EVERYTHING. Example: I carry high-deductible ($20,000) home-owner's insurance BECAUSE IT IS LESS EXPENSIVE. Right now, I am saving over $1,000 a year vs $10,000 deductible. I have no idea how much I'm saving over the idiotic $1,000 deductible that is available. About 10 years ago, a storm knocked a big tree down in my garage roof. Insurance coverage in place w/$10,000 deductible. Repair bill: $5000. No claim, no farting with claims adjusters, no problems. Hire contractor, roof fixed, pay bill. Done. I got off way cheaper than if I'd been paying for more insurance to the tune of about $1,000 a year. Owned that house for 22 years, saved $22,000 in premiums (assuming constant inflation), and paid out $5,000 in damages. Looks to me like I came out $17,000 ahead by NOT HAVING MORE INSURANCE.
As soon as my cars are paid off, I carry only PLPD (personal liability and property damage) insurance. Insurance to fix your car is way more expensive than learning to drive. In 49 years of licensed and insured driving, I have totaled 2 cars on my own. I had no insurance to cover them, so I bought replacements out of pocket. Big deal. The first was a 1991 Toyota with 267,000 miles on it. The second was a 1998 Toyota with 236,000 miles on it. I don't consider either a loss, just a good reason to buy another car. Just guessing here, but lets say I saved and average of $250 a year on car insurance. That is about $120,000 I did NOT pay in car insurance. Replacing both of those cars together cost me NOTHING. Oh, I spent about $35,000 to replace both together. Looks to me like, in the long run, I saved about $85,000 by NOT buying insurance.
I recently bought a new (existing) to me house. My insurance company, in all their infinite wisdom, decided that with the economy in full-on stupid mode, I had to buy $735,000 worth of insurance to get replacement coverage. OK, constuction costs are ridiculous, as are materials. I'll play, but I want $20,000 deductible. "We don't offer that". Fair enough. I paid cash for the house, I don't need your equally stupidly priced insurance. I'll shop around thanks. "Let me talk to my claims department." BS. Fifteen minutes later the agent calls back and offers me a rate $1300 lower than the previous quote, with my $20K deductible in place.
Insurance companies exist to make money off the fact that MOST people will never make a claim. If I'm never going to make a claim, I'll pocket that money and spend it on stuff I want. Like guns, which I have no insurance on, other than my $20,000 deductible HOI.

Insurance is bet you only win if you lose. Choose not to play, you'll be money ahead.

 

[D K]

Should be 0 need to send in your SN/Model numbers or purchase price, can't imagine they are asking the same for your wife's jewelry. If you do have some obscure high-end stuff, get a formal appraisal, and keep that record yourself, where it would be accessible in the event of any given disaster (as you would for that expensive jewelry). I have a Model 12 from my dad that might've cost him $45 new - that price is irrelevant.

I laid out about 10 long guns on the same table, got a photo of all, flipped them, new photo, repeated with the next set, and got photos of the handguns as a lot as well. Proves I had possession, at least at the time of that photo, and that the condition is as claimed (probably a good time to do it again).

I also maintain a spreadsheet myself - model, serial, condition, accessories, when purchased, present value. I email that to myself, along with the photos. Its now stored where I can easily email it out, but only if need be.

Be sure your insurance is set up for replacement value. Alternatives are cheaper, but some policies will only cover purchase price. What if you lost a case of .22lr that you bought for $9.99/brick 15 years ago?

 

[Timjoebillybob]

State farm in my experience is the best for those of us that dont want to get our guns on a list. They have a dedicated policy for furs, jewelry, and valuables that also covers firearms. Its not tied to your homeowners as a rider and is its own policy.

You simply tell them how much coverage you need, and pay your premiums. When you suffer a loss, you present serials and photos to prove you had them and they pay out. So you dont have to tell them what you have (had) until the rubber meets the road.

Our State farm policy covers everything up to max amount except I think furs which are capped at 5 or 10k iirc. Firearms and jewelry are covered up to the cap on personal property. But different people have different policies even with the same company. I know one guy who has/had state farm that "sporting goods" which include firearms had its separate cap.

State Farm dropped me after my third claim in 25 years. First was hail damage to my roof, 10 years later tree fell on garage, lastly hit by lightning. None of which I could have prevented. I wouldn’t let State Farm insure my dog house!

State Farm bumped ours up something like 1-2k per year after our first (and only) claim. We had only had them for something like 5 years and it was a house fire. After it was all said and done it cost them $400k+. Redoing the house, personal property, hotel/rental including furniture, pots/pans/utensils, washer/dryer, fridge,... I can't complain how they treated us. Wife called the agent when she got to the house and they had $1k in her account for incidentals before the fire dept left.

 

[Steelwaver]

My Armscare Plus bill for the year was recently paid. They were referred to me, but I've never had a claim to back up their value.

 

[J Galt]

To the op ". . . Could this information end up in a government database that is not supposed to exist? Could they decide at some point to contact insurance companies to get this data? . . . "


Yes. It is an insurance company. They will sell literally ANYTHING they have about you.

Adding an umbrella insurance policy may be the answer to cover your assets without disclosing details. Having said that, a video, or photos, of those additional assets (that you keep and do not immediately disclose to the insurance company) would be wise.

 

[DRob]

State Farm "personal articles" policy here. It can cover guns, tools, jewelry, sporting goods, etc. I provide info on the covered items and apply a value for each. They add an inflation adjustment annually. My agent told me our homeowner's policy has a built-in coverage for such items but it's limited. We surpassed that amount some time ago. It's a big deal to me that our policy covers any loss, anywhere. Check your coverage. Some policies only cover a loss which occurs in your home! I'm meeting with the agent tomorrow to update the items covered.