Collection Insurance

Hi

I have a collection of minerals which are not specifically insured other than through home contents. Can anybody please recommend a company that specifically insures collections such as this against fire, theft, accidenal damage etc ?

Thank you for your help.

Best wishes

Mark Redmond
Cheshire, UK

One of the problems with insurance compensation is the problem in verifying that you had what you said you lost. Home owner's coverage may already cover your collection as property and I know of someone who had a burglary where several thousand dollars of minerals were taken in a burglary and the home owner's covered the loss as the collector had kept his canceled checks despite them being over ten years old. Check with your current insurer. You should have records of purchase and regularly taken photographs of your collection.

In the chance you would not be covered despite having records you should consider that specific policies for collections may have prohibitive annual rates. A small town museum asked me to appraise their mineral collection for insurance purposes. They'd had a collection on display for over 50 years. They had a catalog of 15,000 specimens. I appraised the pieces in the glass cases, then asked where the rest of them were. We went to storage cupboards and unwrapped specimens. Then I asked where the other ones were and went hauled out boxes under the counters in various places. I then asked where the other ones were and they replied: "That's it." I told them that they had a problem as they were 14,700 specimens short of the catalog and they had to then justify to the town that the minerals didn't disappear on their watch. After much discussion around town, everyone agreed that the other minerals must have burned up when the town hall was destroyed many years before.

The bottom line at the end was that the best parts of the collection were probably on exhibit and there were some very fine pieces. However, the annual premium was 15% of the appraised value. I suggested that they put the annual premium into a separate fund and add to it each year. They had gone 50 years without a loss, why not a few more years? At the end of 7 years, they would be fully insured and after that time they could use future funds and insurance to expand the collection.

Best Wishes, Van King

Van, I like your self-insurance suggestion! I think there are two major problems with insuring a collection. The first is the size of the annual premium. The second is establishing and proving value in the event of a loss.

Most insurers are very hesitant to cover one of a kind or unusual items of potentially high value. This is likely because they do not have the expertise to properly assess the value of the items and establish the level of risk. The last time I inquired about insurance for our collection with the company that carries our homeowners and auto policies, I was told that it would take an independent appraisal of the collection and that the premium was likely to be around 10% of the appraised value each year, if they decided to take it on. If I were to spend that sort of money on insurance, there would be nothing left to acquire new specimens with. Better just to put in some good locks and an alarm system.

Thanks for your advice !!

It also helps to add extra security , ie concrete block walls and a really strong locked door, to encase the room that the collection is housed in..then video slowly and clearly, all the minerals on the shelves as they sit, with a tripod and a slow steady pan. If selected pieces are stolen, then the videotape will reveal exactly what they were. Another thing, too, is to weigh each specimen precisely, and if you trim it , rewrite that weight..this adds another dimension to the description of the specimen and make identifying it, if recovered by the police or other agencies a more likely proposition.

Concrete block walls will offer little protection. You can go through a block wall easily in a few minutes with a sledge hammer. If you set them in a good concrete foundation with rebar in the footing that comes up through the holes in the blocks and then the holes in the blocks filled with concrete you will have a credible fairly strong wall that will really slow down someone who tries to go through it with a sledge hammer. It only makes sense if your collection is worth a lot of money, like more than your house is worth.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Good morning,

I agree that a secure room for your collection and an alarm system is a good deterrent; however, broadcasting your home address, etc. and allowing strangers to come into your home to view your collection should be avoided. Also, don't show off your stuff to every plumber, electrician and delivery person that comes into your home and never tell anyone that you have gold specimens. Besides, even though I am retired, I keep busy and don't have the time to have hoards of people in to see the collection. That is why I have downloaded some photos of my specimens on MINDAT, I just tell people to access my web page. Of course, there are people I intend to invite but they are busy also or live a distance away.

I'm just killing time before time kills me! and MINDAT helps me kill time and learn at the same time.

Best wishes,

Joe

Thanks for that further comment, Rock. I actually meant a reinforced concrete wall with a strong lock steel door, but the late hour
engendered what was clearly and aged person brain fart...and I agree strongly with Joe, in that broadcasting such information is
just sheer lunacy, with the crazy world we are living in now. The best insurance in the end may just be adequate discretion.

With the exception of gold, theft is probably one of the least worries that you have. Most burglars want money, jewelry, drugs or electronics (things that can be fenced easily), not mineral (or other collectibles) specimens. The greatest threats to a collection are heirs, and natural disasters (fire, flood, earthquakes). Preparing for these disasters is probably more cost efficient than insurance.

if its a collector trying to increase their collection then concrete walls, stone walls, or any other form of masonry will be of little consequence and little effort. after all I have seen fifty plus aged men move thousands of pounds of rock while looking for quartz. If its a common criminal then you would be best keeping the better specimens in a large safe, or getting a large dog with big teeth.