People have many different types of hobbies and one of the most popular is the hobby of collecting. Some people collect items with an eye toward growing the monetary value of their collection. Others collect because they love a certain object and don't even realize it when the value of their collection begins to grow to impressive numbers. Whether you collect coins, baseball cards, ceramic figurines, or books it's important to keep an eye not just on the sentimental value of your collection but also the financial value, and to make sure that your home insurance policy offers sufficient limits to cover it.
When creating a home inventory to determine the value of the contents of your home and help make future insurance claims easier, it's a good idea to have any collectibles you own appraised. Even if you think the only value the collection has is sentimental, it's worth it to get an impartial and experienced third party’s opinion. Who knows if that used hardcover book you bought for your collection is a limited first edition worth thousands or just of beat-up tome only worth the two dollars you paid for it, or whether that ceramic figurine you found in a thrift shop is a $500 Lladro original or just a run-of-the-mill Hallmark. Rather than guess at the value of your collectibles, call in an expert who can actually assign a value to them.
Once you have an appraisal for the collection you can add that amount to the value of the rest of your property and you can adjust your insurance limits appropriately. Depending on the value of your collection and how surprised you are by it, you might even decide to take special measures to help protect your collection from insurable incidents such as fire and flood. Of course, this is also a good time to remember that a home insurance policy does not cover damages due to flood and a flood insurance policy does.
If you're not sure where to begin in assigning a value to your property or you have other questions regarding Battle Creek home insurance, give us a call at 269-441-5156.