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I am going to submit a list of my trains to my insurance agent for coverage. Otherwise she told me that I have about $2,000 for unspecified personal belongings.

I am going to put the MANUFACTURER, MFG ITEM NUMBER, PRICE, and a BRIEF DESCRIPTION on my list of items. Ninety-nine percent of what I have was bought new and I take good care of it so I won't worry about condition.

My question is simple. Suppose you pay $600 for an engine that orginally retailed for $1100 but is generally available with a street value of $750 - $800. Which of the three figures should you use for the amounts to be submitted to your insurance agent?

I will do trains first, then buildings, then tracks, then vehicles, people, accessories, etc.
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Questions about insurance come up here frequently. I suggest you look for old threads, and do a little extra research.
You are likely to find that putting your trains on your homeowners policy is not the best choice.
I see you are a TCA member. Look into the policies available through them. There is a choice between blanket and itemized policies.

To answer your question, as far as I know, homeowner's policies will be for "replacement value" at best. So if the "street price" is $750, that would be the best case payment on a loss. But they will probably want to depreciate it. You could pay for $1,000 worth of insurance, but that doesn't mean you would get that in a loss. It's the adjusters job to minimize payout.

I think you will also need to list condition, using "standard" definitions.
I used a value of 1/3 of price new for insurance purposes, regardless of what I paid. A few lcoso I paid list for, new, but many like a recent Williams I bought at about 20% discount new. Many others I bought for about 50 cents ont he dollar, used. Going to 1/3 does not cover my actual replacement costs entirely perhaps, but I got no argument from the insurance company and it at least mitigates my risk: I'd be able to rebuild, so to speak, up to about 2/3 of what I have now (and have fun doing it).
Michael, why not run this by your homeowner's insurance agent for an opinion. They would know what the deal is in your case. If it's like mine, the collectibles are only covered in a standard policy to a very limited degree and typically you'd need a special collectibles rider if you're sticking with them on it. They can tell you exactly what documentation is recommended.

But most here have recommended specialized coverage other than homeowners.
quote:
Originally posted by Ginsaw:
Michael, why not run this by your homeowner's insurance agent for an opinion. They would know what the deal is in your case. If it's like mine, the collectibles are only covered in a standard policy to a very limited degree and typically you'd need a special collectibles rider if you're sticking with them on it. They can tell you exactly what documentation is recommended.

But most here have recommended specialized coverage other than homeowners.


Fortunately their office is only 22 miles north. I am going to take my list and discuss this with them. I am also going to look over my TCA material.
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