insurance for your models

lads, this has been mentioned on and off over the last couple of years, but i was wondering if any of the members has actually gone and done something about it.........now this is not an excuse for anyone to bum and blow about the moneys-worth of models they possess, but i know that my house insurance demands any single item (eg engagement ring, other jewelry) which is worth more than £1500 must be catalogued, and confirmed by an authorised organisation/assessor/etc
when i had my 1:1 opel manta, i had to obtain a valuation  from the OMOC to confirm the value i had claimed, before i could insure it... so what about our collections... even taking the market prices being lower now than in recent years, i'm sure i'm not wrong when i think there are several collections on here worth thousands... i mentioned this to my insurer and they have asked that i get them valued by a recognised body, but is there one? and if not, can we go about becoming an authorised valuation centre? there are enough collectors on here with enough experience to make an informed valuation of  a collection.........
is this something we should/could be thinking about? has someone done this already? am i talking c__p? lol!!

as ever lads, comments/suggestions/opinions/corrections/smart_ss comments welcomed lol!!

There is no body that i know of, however there is an auction house in the Uk that sells every kind of model so maybe they would be able to value it, or at least point you in the right direction. Ill root out the name of the place

cheers brian, though do you think they could handle all our code 3's?

There used to be a company called Magpie that insured collections - models, stamps, coins etc... But I believe they have gone.

You could look in any of the model car/collectors magazines to see if there any insurance companies listed in there.

You could try:- LFC Insurance Group, Contact Lyn Ruddy, tel 01245 428115

Only items worth over £1000 need to be declared.

Cheers
Chris

thanks chris, although i started this off on a personal basis, i'd love to know if other members have their collections insured separately?
plus i wondered if there's a possibility of this place or a version of it being recognised as a creditable assessment centre/ am i dreaming again lol!!?

Great post Billy, and certainly something that needs thinking about before anything disastrous happens to our collections! :shock:I can see us now - house burning down, the wife's grabbing the children, sentimental items and family heirlooms, and the blokes will be wheeling out their model cabinets!

Mine isn't currently insured specifically.

lol!
cheers david, aye it would give us peace of mind plus i think we are as equipped as anyone to value models, as we're constantly buying/selling/watching the market....... just a thought

When we were getting ours a rep called out to house to check mine. Asked about value and took some pictures.. They are insured under contents but there is a note of them..
Probably would still be alot of paperwork and hassle if anything did happen

hi maurice, thanks for that m8, did he not ask for evidence of value?

I don't see why a Diecast Rally Models headed letter couldn't be taken as some kind of recognised valuation for insurance purposes, after all - as you said Billy - between us I am pretty sure we could value any collection accurately, as we are not only aware of the current values of each model, but also how much it is realistically likely to cost to replace each one. Heaven forbid...

Maybe it is a service that could be provided by an individual member liaising (privately, by PM or email) with the individual marque experts within the forum, ie yourself or Gaz for the Mantas, Jimmy for Fords, myself, Zeus or Juha for 6R4s, etc... We could then start to assemble a database of each model so that we valued them consistently from one collector to another. It would be best done privately so that the insurance company doesn't get suspicious of us trying to inflate the values of our own collections inaccurately.

Once a mutually acceptable figure has been agreed upon, a DRM headed letter could be sent back to the member signed by an admin - currently only Nicky & Paul I think? - or there could be a group of three or four 'hardcore' members who have been appointed to be Model Valuation Advisors.

Just my tuppence worth to throw into the thinking pot!

A good insurance broker who takes time to understand your requirements should be able to incorporate a collection as a "named item on" your standard house policy without the need for a specialist valuation. Its a bit different with jewelry etc however I have heard of some people having a seperate policy for their collection as well so guess it comes down to the value of your models and your experience of dealing with your insurer. If they are one of those who's call centres are in the far east I would suggest you may have problems!

I have a incurance for my record collection i have over 4000 records
And my diecast models are in the same insurance 
I have to pay more money and when my house burn down i collect €25000
Grz rob

thanks for input so far lads, david thats along the same lines as i was thinking m8......... chris when i mentioned the value to my insurer they asked for a certificate or proof of value..... of course i'll have to pay more but would be good to get it done right.... many of our models are going to be near impossible to replace but at least if we had the worth of them in case anyhting happened................

bmd wrote:hi maurice, thanks for that m8, did he not ask for evidence of value?

No Billy but he did ask how often I added to it. My view at the time was that it was a PR excerise. Our insurance is with our mortgage provider.My only bit of peace that it is listed on contents but I still think that there would be a lot of hassle on a payout.

An alternative to the forum valuing a collection would be to find someone within this field that had no alternative agenda such as a dealer, but had also been around the model collecting world long enough to know their shallots from their onions - a recognised name amongst model collectors nationwide - someone like...

...CHRIS DERBYSHIRE!

Would all the Chris Derbyshire's of the world please take one step forward - although I seriously doubt you would want or relish the additional workload my friend!

Dave

Err thanks My Sims!!!!!!

I shall give my cool calm considered opinion..... my consulting fees are astronmically high, all travel expenses (that will be first class by air or train) or in my Bugatti Veyron (heh I have just seen one on the road not 15 minutes ago all covered in stickers- must be looking to deliver it here shortly!!??) to be paid up front in cash!!!

Like everything collectible its all in the eye of the beholder - do you want to but it, sell it or insure it? Each one would be very different. A model/antique would have to be insured at the buying price - ie how much would it cost to replace it. How they hell do you find a price for a built resin kit? Where are you going to find one and who will build it again?

Makes me laugh all these comments about Kevin (KMD) selling these models recently. The buyers have made the value of KMD Models what they are, not Kevin. If a KMD Manta sells for £130 odd thats what the buyer (was it Rory) felt it was worth or he could afford. Thats life, move on. There will always be someone who can afford it.

So going off stage there a bit... how do you value a collection? I have know idea. Believe me you will all scare yourselves silly if you really knew what you collections were worth. In fact its probably best you didnt know.

Seriously though any KMD limited edition models or other makers of that sort of model will clearly retain a value. But your partworks brought at knock down prices will always sell at knock down prices. One or two will be the exception.

So when valueing your collection be realistic, sensible etc.. The old adage it HAS to be mint and mint boxed to be worth the best value, the price will tumble with no box or damaged model etc....

My fee for this information will be available shortly via my rep Mr Sims...

Cheers
Chris

hi guys, further to the above discussion....
as my house insurance is up in a couple of weeks, I decided this morning to make a couple of calls before renewing with present insurer....my current company had asked about some kind of authorised body supplying a proof-of-value certificate for the collection, and this obviously was going to be a bit awkward....
anyway, I priced insurance with another well-known local (n.i.) firm, who not only matched my current cover for £90 less than my renewal premium, but have noted my collection, its estimated value (by me), and as long as no single item is worth more than £5000, are happy to include them in the general house insurance....they asked that I keep a record and/or photos of the models for future reference, which I already have done, so happy days!!   
just thought i'd let you guys know that not all insurers require an officially-recognised valuation of our collections......hope this helps someone else....