Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Since this sort of thing comes up on AK every so often, I thought I'd start yet another thread about it. It may be boring, you may not be interested, but if you're an audio person with a lot of audio equipment, you really might want to at least read it.
Disclaimer:
This is not legal advice, I am not a lawyer, nor am I an insurance agent. Consult an attorney if you want legal advice, and your insurance agent if you want advice on insurance. This is simply what I have learned over the years, and is my opinion only.
Homeowners Insurance in the USA generally consists of two types. Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value (ACV). This covers your home and its contents, within certain limits and subject to deductibles. If you do not know you have Replacement Cost, you probably have Actual Cash Value.
Actual Cash Value costs less to buy. However, it means that if you suffer a covered loss, and the insurance company thinks your vintage receiver is worth $10, then $10 is what you get. Period. It doesn't matter how rare you think it is, that is what the depreciated value is. If you like to argue and fight, go ahead and buy ACV and see how that works out for you when you suffer a loss.
Replacement Cost, on the other hand, covers the cost of actually replacing like for like. Insurance companies may try to actually replace the item; for example, if you suffer an insured loss of a vintage receiver, they may attempt to locate, purchase, and send to you an identical receiver; rather than cutting you a check. However, if they cannot replace the item, then you get a check for the amount it would cost to actually replace it, not the depreciated value.
This applies to Renters Insurance as well, by the way.
Another thing to consider is limits on types of coverage. Many Homeowners Insurance policies have a dollar limit on specific categories such as jewelry, electronics, firearms, clothes, and so on. Once you hit that limit, that's all the insurance company will pay. Not a dime more, regardless of the type of coverage you have.
Many of us have more than the limits of our policies on things like electronics (some of us also collect cameras, watches, and other things which are likewise capped on most policies).
You can fix this with a rider (also known as an endorsement). Generally, you set the limit and the insurance company tells you how much it will cost. Along with that, you will generally submit an itemized list, including (as possible) receipts, video, and photographs of the items in your home. With this sort of coverage, the insurance company wants to know you have the items and are not just making stuff up.
In some cases, you can find associations and groups that will help you insure your items that exceed the value of your policy for that category. For example, membership in some photography associations will allow you to by a separate insurance policy for those items, instead of keeping them on your homeowners policy. I don't know of any audio-related associations like that, but who knows.
You may have heard about flood insurance and how it is NOT included in most homeowner policies. So you need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. What a lot of people do NOT KNOW is that neither your homeowners nor your flood insurance will cover water damage that is NOT flood-related, such as backed-up drains. This catches people by surprise all the time; a sewer line backs up, everything in the basement is destroyed, and they're on the hook for every penny of it. You can buy a rider on your homeowners policy for non-flood related water damage, and it's cheap, but generally your agent won't tell you about it unless you ask. So ask.
Ask about theft. Some policies have lower limits on theft than they do on loss due to natural disaster, fire, or other catastrophies.
Finally, consider liability insurance. Let's say you have some guys over to listen to your equipment. Someone slips on the stairs and hurts their back. Think they can't sue you? Think again. You're responsible for that kind of liability. Same thing if some kid cuts through your yard and trips over a sprinkler head sticking out of the ground. Yeah, really. Most homeowners policies have a liability coverage, but in general, it's not very high. Increasing the coverage doesn't cost too much, generally speaking. So you might want to review that too.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,203134,00.html
http://www.homeownersinsuranceguide.flash.org/knowyourchoices.htm
http://www.insure.com/home-insurance/contents-insurance-claims.html
That's about it. If anyone else thinks of anything, feel free to chime in. But this is serious stuff, folks. We've had some AK members post horror stories about their homes catching fire and them losing everything. It's bad enough to deal with that kind of stress and emotional upheaval in your life without also having to fight your insurance company to get compensation that you thought you had and didn't.
Bottom line; review what you have, and take action where appropriate. If you do not pay attention to your insurance, you really have only yourself to blame if things don't work out the way you imagine they should.
Disclaimer:
This is not legal advice, I am not a lawyer, nor am I an insurance agent. Consult an attorney if you want legal advice, and your insurance agent if you want advice on insurance. This is simply what I have learned over the years, and is my opinion only.
Homeowners Insurance in the USA generally consists of two types. Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value (ACV). This covers your home and its contents, within certain limits and subject to deductibles. If you do not know you have Replacement Cost, you probably have Actual Cash Value.
Actual Cash Value costs less to buy. However, it means that if you suffer a covered loss, and the insurance company thinks your vintage receiver is worth $10, then $10 is what you get. Period. It doesn't matter how rare you think it is, that is what the depreciated value is. If you like to argue and fight, go ahead and buy ACV and see how that works out for you when you suffer a loss.
Replacement Cost, on the other hand, covers the cost of actually replacing like for like. Insurance companies may try to actually replace the item; for example, if you suffer an insured loss of a vintage receiver, they may attempt to locate, purchase, and send to you an identical receiver; rather than cutting you a check. However, if they cannot replace the item, then you get a check for the amount it would cost to actually replace it, not the depreciated value.
This applies to Renters Insurance as well, by the way.
Another thing to consider is limits on types of coverage. Many Homeowners Insurance policies have a dollar limit on specific categories such as jewelry, electronics, firearms, clothes, and so on. Once you hit that limit, that's all the insurance company will pay. Not a dime more, regardless of the type of coverage you have.
Many of us have more than the limits of our policies on things like electronics (some of us also collect cameras, watches, and other things which are likewise capped on most policies).
You can fix this with a rider (also known as an endorsement). Generally, you set the limit and the insurance company tells you how much it will cost. Along with that, you will generally submit an itemized list, including (as possible) receipts, video, and photographs of the items in your home. With this sort of coverage, the insurance company wants to know you have the items and are not just making stuff up.
In some cases, you can find associations and groups that will help you insure your items that exceed the value of your policy for that category. For example, membership in some photography associations will allow you to by a separate insurance policy for those items, instead of keeping them on your homeowners policy. I don't know of any audio-related associations like that, but who knows.
You may have heard about flood insurance and how it is NOT included in most homeowner policies. So you need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy. What a lot of people do NOT KNOW is that neither your homeowners nor your flood insurance will cover water damage that is NOT flood-related, such as backed-up drains. This catches people by surprise all the time; a sewer line backs up, everything in the basement is destroyed, and they're on the hook for every penny of it. You can buy a rider on your homeowners policy for non-flood related water damage, and it's cheap, but generally your agent won't tell you about it unless you ask. So ask.
Ask about theft. Some policies have lower limits on theft than they do on loss due to natural disaster, fire, or other catastrophies.
Finally, consider liability insurance. Let's say you have some guys over to listen to your equipment. Someone slips on the stairs and hurts their back. Think they can't sue you? Think again. You're responsible for that kind of liability. Same thing if some kid cuts through your yard and trips over a sprinkler head sticking out of the ground. Yeah, really. Most homeowners policies have a liability coverage, but in general, it's not very high. Increasing the coverage doesn't cost too much, generally speaking. So you might want to review that too.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,203134,00.html
http://www.homeownersinsuranceguide.flash.org/knowyourchoices.htm
http://www.insure.com/home-insurance/contents-insurance-claims.html
That's about it. If anyone else thinks of anything, feel free to chime in. But this is serious stuff, folks. We've had some AK members post horror stories about their homes catching fire and them losing everything. It's bad enough to deal with that kind of stress and emotional upheaval in your life without also having to fight your insurance company to get compensation that you thought you had and didn't.
Bottom line; review what you have, and take action where appropriate. If you do not pay attention to your insurance, you really have only yourself to blame if things don't work out the way you imagine they should.
