Are You Insured Enough?

Subject: Are You Insured Enough?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 09:56 AM

Tonight we will mail a whopping insurance claim stemming from a very small fire about 6 weeks ago. We have been listing and documenting items since the day following the fire... but that's just the beginning of a claim. After an intensive paperwork roundup all yesterday, last night, and early this AM, to gather the finishing touches for what's been in the works for weeks-- it's worse than the hardest grant I ever submitted.

After a careful and honest inventory, I cannot BELIEVE how underinsured we were for the contents of our home.

Never MIND the music stuff, caramba!

How insured are you, and how well-documented for all your music stuff? Imagine replacing it ALL, retail or at E-bay, if you even could.... the cost of doing all the looking... oh yeah, that counts too!

How would you value your out-of-print songbooks? Ask a Mudcatter how much they'd give you to part with it if it hadn't just burned up???

Talk to me. If I have any tips y'all don't share, I'll share them.

BIG BUCKS. VERY BIG BUCKS.

Going back to bed shortly. Eyeballs shot to hell. BIG BUCKS.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:09 PM

This really is important. Consider:

The Singing Tradition of Popular Child Ballads , by Bronson originally sold for $19.95. Now, IF you can find a copy, you will pay up to $50.00.

Popular English and Scottish Ballads by F. J. Child. Paperback editions for a complete set, vols I-V,in Good condition, are selling for up to $1,000.00. The copy I have borrowed from my friend is a hard bound set in Fine condition........this is scary. I did find a complete set of small paperbacks for $148.00, but all the quarto sized are big bucks.........

And what about your instruments? Sure, some of them are not "replaceable" but wouldn't it be nice to have a little money to try and get something else if they were gone?

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: SINSULL
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:14 PM

And here I thought you were worried about having enough life insurance to take care of the children! Mudcatters!

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:24 PM

Books, Instruments, Mary!! Let's get our priorities clear, here!! LOL! My friend says, "If I have a little money, I buy tunes. If I have a litte more money, I buy cigs, if and when there is still more money, THEN I buy food!"

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:31 PM

I couldn't think of a better title for the thread. I think people think it's either BS or a sales attempt. If you help me keep it refreshed, though, it should liven up.

~S~

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:32 PM

It is good to remember that our own Night Owl lost everything to a fire started by lightening. It has been a very long and painful process for her to even begin to list and document everythng, esp. her music books, for insurance claims.

One good thing to do: take pictures of everything or list everything you own, now. When we moved, recently and put everything in storage, I took a picture of each box of books with the spines easily readable. It should have been more thorough with copyright date, etc. but at least I will have the titles. Same thing with heirlooms, instruments, and antiques.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:35 PM

That's a great tip, Kat. With that, someone else could even do the research for you. We had so many people offering to help and so little they could just DO.

~S~

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: MarkS
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:40 PM

Hey - Serious comment. Once a year or more often if you are energetic, get a video camera or digital camera and photograph or tape every room in your home. Do every closet, every cupboard, every desk drawer and dusty corner. Keep the video or camera disc in a safe place - with a friend if possible - and out of the house.
When you review your efforts, pretend you are a stranger looking at the record, and you will not believe the amount of STUFF you have accumulated.
Sadly, most insurance claims fall short of covering losses because the claimant does not remember everything to put down!
At least you will be creating an electronic record of you stuff, so when you argue with your insurance company you will have a leg to stand on.
MarkS

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:40 PM

You can just get a good camera,or video cam and take pics of each room, open closets, etc. We did that with Mom's house before she died, and saved a bundle on apprasial costs, because we had it all documented. We did take stills of all her jewlery, tho. Book titles would be a little more difficult to read on video, probly should use stills for that too.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: MarkS
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:44 PM

Hey Sorcha - Did you notice we posted the same advice at the exact same time? Marvelous how great minds think alike on the Mudcat.
MarkS

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Matt_R
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:47 PM

The library here on base has the large-size paper back collection of the Child Ballads. My sister has Vol.1 checked out (she's doing a term paper on The Wee Wee Man). The card catalog values each volume at $12.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:53 PM

HA! HA! HA!!!! (that was to Matt, or the librarian.....) Oh well, Mark, what can I say? We are all so great here at the Cat, we can even find out about antique guns.......

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Matt_R
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 05:56 PM

What? They're just books.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: MarkS
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 06:00 PM

Sorcha - LOL! If the gods of the internet gave a medal for uniqueness, this place would win the blue ribbon every time!
MarkS

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 06:03 PM

Yes, Matt, but if they are lost or destroyed no way can the Library replace them for $12 bucks. NO WAY!!

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Matt_R
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 06:07 PM

Good one Sorcha. These libraries aren't in the habit of "replacing" things.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 06:10 PM

Of course not. Our Public Library is not either. They just shrug, and say, Oh well. We have ONE copy of Wuthering Heights, and it is water stained with about 50 pages missing, and they say, Oh well. Child? Fuggidabatit. See ILL. Ha.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Skeptic
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 06:54 PM

Make sure what the exclusions and limits are on your policy. When I was still married, we got robbed. Drug related as what they took was highly portable/pawnable, including a lot of gold jewelery my ex had picked up/inheirited over the years. There was a $2000 aggregate cap on jewelery and the same limit on "collectibles". Our policy was for full replacement so we figured we were covered. For a $9500 loss (replacement cost)we got around $3000.

Don't just take video's/pictures. Inventory the rare stuff and get a current appraisal. You may need to do a rider. That $5000 guitar you picked up for a couple of hundred bucks at that garage sale (everyone can dream)probably wouldn't be covered without one

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: kimmers
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 09:26 PM

And don't forget that flood insurance is a separate deal, not covered by homeowner's policy. We got flooded in '96 and had over $50,000 worth of damage, none of it covered. Thankfully, I had enough warning (or intuition) to get all of the sentimental stuff out of the basement in time. All I lost were some old sewing projects and other junk. My neighbors lost many books, papers, and baby mementoes.

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 09:35 PM

Ours was mostly smoke damage. I love how pretty some people's instruments look displayed on the wall.... but I'm sure glad ours were in their cases. Smoke inside the fiddle... can't think it would have been a good thing.

~S~

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: Quincy
Date: 28 Jan 01 - 04:32 AM

I have had friends staying with me for the last few months who lost everything in a house fire. I have sat and watched her trying to remember titles of cds and videos.....the insurance company found most of them for her but for those unavailable they are just going to send her vouchers.
I'm not a materialistic person on the whole but I have lots and lots of cds etc. It made me realise that if I had to do the same I wouldn't be able to remember half of them! I decided on the idea that was mentioned by Sorcha and MarkS in the end....just reading the titles onto a cassette (although I haven't done it yet!!)

BTW Susan....sorry I've "neglected" you, you're still very much in my thoughts, will e-mail later.

best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: selby
Date: 28 Jan 01 - 09:31 AM

In the UK here is an intresting one, although our instruments are covered by our house insurance if we take them to a festival and store them overnight they must be locked in a car boot (trunk in the US I think). If we are in our camper and where stolen would not covered. When we looked into getting seperate Instument Insurance they would be covered in the camper as long as it had a Thatcham approved anti theft steering lock fitted, the campers insurers did not ask for this when we insured the camper. Insurance is a strnge beast. To add somthing else to think about How many CD's have you got and how many are replacable?

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Jan 01 - 01:41 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: English Jon
Date: 29 Jan 01 - 04:03 AM

Also, bear in mind that if you perform professionally, you need to be insured for public liability as well. In the U.K. you can sort this out via the M.U.

Cheers, Jon

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: GMT
Date: 29 Jan 01 - 04:29 AM

A friend had, amongst other things, all her CD's stolen. Her insurance company gave her Five Pounds for each after a long argument over the number and value.
Over a number of days I took all my CD's to work, about 60 at a time, in a box that I could simply turn face down and photocopied all the spines. I now have a complete record and almost physical proof of the CD's I have. Although I need to do those I've bought since then. I've also started keeping receipts.
I'm hoping that, god forbid, I should lose them all this will satisfy the insurers.
Cheers Gary

Subject: RE: Are You Insured Enough?
From: GUEST,Fibula Mattock
Date: 29 Jan 01 - 07:13 AM

I was very lucky and got all my stolen stuff replaced through the insurance company. My friend wasn't so lucky - same company, but a student policy and they ripped her off and gave her a shocking amount of hassle. I've now started an inventory of books and cds, and keep photocopies of receipts for electrical goods.
It is quite amazing what lengths insurance companies will go to in order to avoid paying out. They'll try and get you off your books if you're so much as a second late with a payment. (I worked as a programmer for a certain big American insurance company and I hope never to have to deal with commercial auto cover again!)