Insuring your airsoft armory
 

I am finally considering insuring my airsoft collection but I'm not sure how I should go about it!
I spoke to our home insurance provider & they said I would have to get an appraisal of my entire collection but how would one get an honest evaluation? Airsoft pricing within Canada has changed drastically since I began collecting in 06' and I would hate to see any piece depreciate in value.
Any tips or suggestions?

Pieces WILL deprecate in value, with prices going down. For example a brand new WE SCAR that was worth what 600 new 1 year ago is now worth 375-400. As for insuring, mine is included in my house insurance, and is 'valeur a neuf'. Just make sure you keep recent pictures of all your collection, and links to Canadian retailers selling the brands.

try and find retailers selling your gear and screencap their prices ? i dunno
good luck with it. Hopefully your gear isn't too customized or it may be hard. Do you have any of the original receipts ?

Insurance will only cover cost to replace items. They will not give full face value for anything you own. Best way to do it is take pics have an airsoft room and insure the room for the value of the stuff. As far an depreciating in value other than art or jewelry it happens... Do diffrent than a computer just because you bought it for $1000 does not mean 3 years later they will give you even a fraction of that.

Insurance is always a battle to get what you think you deserve.

Insurance is for "replacement cost" or" Actual Cash Value" ( resale value)

Depreciation in value due to changes in market condition can not be preserved with insurance.

So a gun that you purchased 3 years ago at $600 but now available for $300 has a replacement cost of $300 .. this is it's worth for insurance value.

Items that are no longer in production .. and no longer available, you would have to provide evidence of the purchase price. and the current price of items of "like kind and quality" if they exist.. there is some room the haggle on the insurable value of these items.

but I feel your pain.. I have guns I paid $1000 for that can be purchased for 400 now

It should be covered under your home insurance.

depends on the amount you have.. if it's deemed a "collection" and your policy requires "collections" to be endorsed on your policy.. then it may not be.

READ YOUR POLICY

Also .. if you keep your stuff away from your home... it may not be covered, If you use it for business .. it will not be covered

As for quantity, my airsoft collection amounts to over 78 pieces...it has a significant dollar value attached to it and I would hope it will qualify as a 'collection'!

I already asked my agent about this and you have to pay big coil for "Extra" coverage for it being a collection & and you need the receipts. It's a pain in the ass,thats why all my stuff is locked up! House policy usally only covers a small amount,ie. flat rate of say 10-15,000 of total content and that can varie on the deductable you have.

The depreciation appeared to take effect around the same time as the introduction of cheap crapsoft and clearsoft in recent years. Items that were $500 plummeted in apparent value to $250, Things that were $700 became $350. At first the new item prices may look enticing but you have to wonder if its the same quality product as the originals from half a decade ago.
Since then people get replies like "Hay guize xcuse mai spellin eye wanna bi yur aire sof but imma onla gonna paye dis twenty dolla billz becuz eye can git it cheap now from canadien tyr".
http://www.condometropolis.com/blog/.../low-offer.jpg

Kevin, maybe you should sell half your collection, take nthe money and go buy Hawaii.

I hear it nice there all year round.

On a more serious note, my homeowners insurance covers all my legal firearms, they prescribe no limits. Luckily, I don't have any illegal ones to worry about. They cover them for replacement value. So, if they are stolen or my house burns down, they will have a large bill toay, which is 75% of the value of my house, or about $300K anyway for contents. If my entire gun collection (which it is not as I don't have any two guns which are the same) was claimed, it would be many tens of thousands of dollars. After reading the riders, it was not necessary for me to get extra coverage. I have offsite documentation of what I own.

+1....under your home insurance and YOU give them the total value written down....


By the way...long time since we chatted...still have my modded MUR real steel and PTW's from me?....

Substantial collection value does not mean shit, when my house got broken into there was some high prized airsoft items that got replaced as face value (without the Canadian markups) I lost quite a large chunk of money that I invest in my stuff. Depending on your insurer they may insist that you make all the possible prevention such as safe storage, They made me store all my valued airsoft items in safes, if you deal with Allstate they can insure practically anything but they will use overseas website price guide as their replacement guide so ie. that $2500 Inokatsu M60 will only get a $1500 replacement value if you lose it, or that uber leet FCC custom PTW that cost you $3200 will only get a replacement value of $2000

Some insurance company will not deal with replica arms they will require you get a seperate policy for it, i had to change mine to All state because of that (Guarantee company of North America) They will cover real fire arms but when it comes to Airsoft they balked especially when they ask for documentation of the items involved. At All State all they asked for is the value, documentation that it is legal items in my possesion and pictures.

Reading this thread and learning about insurance is interesting...
Except when I found that I don't have anything worth insuring for.

:(

Airsoft is just like any other toys or property. It shouldn't be valued any different. If your $$$ value in your policy is enough to cover them, it should be fine, no?

Not really my previous insurance company look at the legal issue and since it's still in the grey area they refuse to insure it under my house, the good thing about Allstate is that they will insure anything and everything just like a Chinese market at least they are willing to listen and understand the items and not simply listing it as military arms and refusing coverage

Precisely

It's always a good idea to review your policy and not to assume you're covered for something. Insurance is something you don't want surprises with. I know of someone who's basement flooded in winter while he was away and his whole basement was a block of ice. It wasn't covered because he didn't have anyone checking on his house. You have to have your house checked every three days I think. The point is you need to know all the fine print so you don't get screwed over, over a small detail that will void your policy.

Depreciation is a part of life. Unfortunately for some it was sudden and drastic.

Not true at all, we have note even mentioned General Liability coverage.. which as a player .. is worth GOLD

if you are over 18, and live outside of your parents home in an apartment, BUY A TENANT's POLICY

Always Check with a Licensed Insurance Broker
 

Hey Guys

What you will want to do first check the type of homeowners policy you have.

So for example if you have a Broad or Comprehensive policy ( works the same for Tenant and Condo)

► Broad Form - All Risks building / Named Perils Contents
► Comprehensive Form - All Risks Building and Contents


Airsoft items such as guns,mags,vest,masks and bb's all falls under your personal property coverage know as " Coverage C - Personal Property"

This is a Standard wording MOST Insurance Companies use ( please read your own policy for clarification )

1. We insure the contents of your dwelling and other personal property you own, wear or use while on your premises which is usual to the ownership or maintenance of a dwelling.

Some companies will allow you to add items separately outside your standard personal property coverage.
These are known as "Scheduled Items"
Check with your Broker to see if your company will allow you add your Airsoft guns separately. You will pay a Premium (additional Cost ) on top of your current policy premium.
Most of the time its not really worth adding your guns on separately due to the cost but it gives you an agreement with the insurance company that the Item is worth what is stated on your policy. Just remember the Insurance company can probably replace your stuff for 1/3rd the cost of what you paid for it.

When it comes to an insured Loss there are 2 types of Payouts

Replacement cost means the cost, on the date of the loss or damage, of the lower of:
1. repairing the property with materials of similar kind and quality; or
2. new articles of similar kind, quality and usefulness;
without any deduction for depreciation.

9 out of 10 times when it comes to personal property claims it is paid out as :
Actual Cash Value
The Actual Cash Value will take into account such things as the cost of replacement less any depreciation, and in determining depreciation we will consider the condition immediately before the damage, the resale value and the normal life expectancy.

Remember to always check with a licensed Insurance Broker from your province as coverage can very from company to company and province to province.

Also as Brian said, Liability insurance provided under your homeowners/tenants/condo policy is worth having.

Time for me to do some reading...
Thanks, Brian! :D