Does Renters Insurance Cover Collectibles?

Renter’s insurance also referred to as tenant insurance, doesn’t always cover collectibles and memorabilia. It ultimately depends on the fine print. Some renter’s insurance policies might expressly exclude the damage, destruction, loss, or theft of collectibles from its contents coverage.

Additionally, all tenant policies have a policy limit. If you lose your personal properties and your collectibles, your insurance only replaces up to that policy limit. That’s why it’s vital to take inventory of everything you own and understand whether you have enough coverage to protect all your valuables.

In this article, we discuss the steps to protect your collectibles with renter’s insurance. We also explain the buying process for purchasing separate collectibles insurance in Canada.

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How can I protect my collectibles?

1. Check your renter’s insurance policy

Understanding your renter’s insurance policy is the first step to ensure you have proper coverage for your collectibles. It can be challenging to read through pages of documents to understand what your policy protects and what it doesn’t.

That’s why it’s ideal to work with an insurance advisor. If you explain that you want coverage for your collectibles, they can help you find the right renter’s policy or suggest independent coverage, so you have adequate protection.

Related: What to look for in renter’s insurance

As mentioned in the introduction, you want to see whether your insurance explicitly excludes certain items (jewelry and fine art are two of the most common exclusions) and what your policy limit is.

Related: What Kind of Insurance Protects the Things You Own?

For example, if your policy’s limit is $10,000 and your collectibles are worth $6,000, you might believe that’s fine. But if your home is burglarized or damaged by a fire, consider if that $10,000 is enough to replace your $6,000 collection and other personal properties like electronics and furniture.

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2. Make an inventory of your collections

When you file an insurance claim, your insurer wants to understand in detail what you lost. That’s why it’s essential to make an inventory of your personal items, including any collections you’ve amassed.

The more details, the better. Pictures, receipts, and a note on the date of purchase for each piece of your collection makes the claim process significantly easier. Without the proper documentation, you might be unable to claim the replacement cost or at least have a hard time doing so.

You should further make multiple copies of your list. You could keep a hard copy in a safety deposit box and a digital copy on the cloud to ensure it won’t disappear.

Related: How to file a renters insurance claim

3. Get an appraisal

You sometimes build a collection, and it grows in value. Things like baseball cards or sports memorabilia can reach tens of thousands of dollars. You might buy a piece for $10 at retail value, and it’s now worth $100 on the resale market.

As a result, receipts aren’t enough to describe the value of your collection. You need to get it appraised to determine your collection’s market value.

A separate insurance policy for your collections requires an appraisal as well. This lets the insurance company understand how much it’s insuring the collection for. Understand how your insurer wants items appraised, so it fits their guidelines.

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How to get insurance for collectibles in Canada?

Some collections call for their own insurance policy. It’s best to speak with your insurance broker to learn how to approach separate insurance coverage for your collectibles.

Renter’s insurance may come with “rider” options that let you expand the scope of coverage.

For example, a tenant insurance policy with $10,000 contents coverage might accommodate $20,000 of coverage and specifically include your collectible through a rider. This rider would also increase your premiums by a certain amount each month.

Renter’s insurance protects many important things — including a rare Charizard Pokémon card or comic book set. Get a free quote and buy renter’s insurance online in under five minutes with APOLLO Insurance.

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