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Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Thu May 16, 2019 6:57 pm
by Moriquendi
Hey guys,

I was having a review of my home-owners insurance policy with my agent and I mentioned that i have ~$3000 (shoot from the hip estimate) in MECCG cards and he said in order to add those to my home-owners policy, I would need to get the collection appraised. I said the game has been out of print for 20 years and there isn't really a definitive authority on MECCG cards (vs. say sports cards or MTG).

Anyone else here insure their cards/collection as part of a policy? How did you value your collection?

Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 8:51 pm
by the JabberwocK
What did your broker say when you told him that?

Personally, I feel most insurance is a waste of money - including paying insurance to the USPS.

Obviously, there are some things you really need it for (home, cars).

I would save the insurance money (assuming there is even a way for MECCG to be appraised which they will accept), and instead invest in home security, which pays additional dividends beyond your card collection.

Start with a large, good quality home safe. You could keep your more valuable MECCG items in the safe, as well as other items you want to protect against fire, flood, or theft. Next would be to install a comprehensive home security system which includes door and window alarms, cameras, glass break sirens, etc. Make sure your fire/smoke detectors are in good working order and purchase a fire extinguisher or two to have in your home. Do regular checks on your water heater so it isn’t used to exhaustion, which can cause leaking and flooding.

I’m just presenting a different approach to your problem. Basically, I’m in favor of self-insuring through home security and maintenance, which pays dividends in many ways.

As to actually getting a policy add-on for MECCG.... sounds extremely difficult, but if you do go that route, I’d love to hear what happens. =)


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Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Sat May 18, 2019 5:45 am
by CDavis7M
Good thoughts.

Leaks and flooding seem to be the most likely cause of damage to various games and collectibles. Fires also seem to be more frequent than burglary. Hopefully none of this happens to any of us.

So maybe a fire/water proof safe for your most expensive stuff is the best idea.

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Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Sat May 18, 2019 2:41 pm
by the JabberwocK
I agree that flooding is more likely to happen than the others.

My friend lost most of his MECCG collection many years ago due to water damage. I think they were in his girlfriend’s basement when it flooded.

In my previous home, my water heater hit its shelf life and broke, flooding my garage where it was located. Thankfully the water was contained to the garage and nothing of value was destroyed.

Fire is rare, but does happen, and is catastrophically destructive when it does.

Burglary is also rare, and frequency varies with location. For someone who is single, I thing burglary is not as high priority to defend against as someone with a family and kids. When you live in a dwelling with a family, home security systems become much more important, for the safety and security of your family primarily, and for the contents of your home secondarily.


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Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 3:07 am
by CCG Collector
While I do keep some of my more valuable cards in a safe, they won't offer the protection you might expect against a fire. There's a fellow on YouTube named Silversnorlax204 who did some videos on the subject, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_fnlytb7Xw

Basically, the intense heat will still affect your cards, even if they technically don't catch fire. Worse, cards in toploaders, one-touches, screwdowns, and slabs will be affected even more severely, as the plastic of their "protective" cases bends and warps, permanently damaging the card.

So, by all means keep your cards safe, but just be aware that a disaster can still be, well, disastrous.

Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 11:22 pm
by Moriquendi
So, to follow up on this - I already have a home security system, I'm not too worried about the cards being stolen honestly. They already survived a burglary at my previous home in Denver (and thankfully weren't dumped on the floor like everything else in my house). Most thieves are looking for quick turnaround with high-value - Electronics, cash, weapons, jewelry, prescription drugs.

I also already have a home-owners policy, they simply want me to declare any articles specifically valued at more than $1000 and provide some evidence of their value. The cost to insure the cards is already included under my policy as personal articles with something like a $100k total replacement value cap.

Basically, if I have a file with all these items/values listed when a disaster occurs, they can cut me a check that much quicker/easier.

Where assigning values gets especially tricky are collectibles, because replacing a collection is much harder than a single item. I.E. my cards' individual value might only be $3,000 or so, but the time & cost to replace all of them would be much higher since many of these cards are rarely even available for sale any more, especially as complete sets.

Other categories in the list:
- Computer equipment
- TV/Entertainment/Home Theater equipment
- Musical instruments
- Jewelry/Heirlooms
- Bicycles/Skis/sports equipment
- Collectibles <-- this is where the MECCG cards fall
- Rugs (lol realy?)
- Furs (even more LOL)
- etc.

Re: Insuring out of print CCG's

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:12 am
by Kjeld
Moriquendi wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 11:22 pm - Rugs (lol realy?)
High-quality handmade rugs, like authentic Persian rugs, can cost many thousands of dollars each (even tens of thousands if they're silk). Many people nonetheless buy them because they are beautiful and can last for decades longer than any other rug. If I had a large house with multiple such rugs, I would definitely register them on my insurance policy!