Valuable Articles Insurance

[aspenmartial]

I am wondering how many of you insured your Hermes bags... I called home insurance company. Home insurance is going to cover on only for if they were gone because house was on fire or something... If I want additional coverage for stolen/ lost or damage, I should buy another policy just for the bags. My two ostrich Birkins will cost $508/year !!! Is it worth buying it? I am scared of loss or damage... But $508/year for both ostrich Birkins? In ten years, I can buy another kelly with that money. I don't know... What should I do? Any better options? PLEASE!

 

[Greentea]

Try another ins. Company. Mine will insure anything that is on your person and lost or stolen, up to 10% of the total amount covered for your personal property (which is substantial.) That would cover any bag/s I'd happen to be carrying or traveling with. I only have separate policies for my jewelry.

 

[aspenmartial]

Thank you Greentea!

 

[aspenmartial]

Greentea, which insurance company do you use? I called around insurance company, and all of them ask for additional payment of few hundred dollars...

 

[venezia]

You should have insurance to cover the value of all your belongings. Just include the value of your purse in that total. Then keep your receipt. I actually had Hermes write an appraisal letter I put in my file.

 

[Greentea]

Greentea, which insurance company do you use? I called around insurance company, and all of them ask for additional payment of few hundred dollars...

Aspen, I pm'd you.

The one thing with not having a separate policy for your bags and using the Personal Property section of your home insurance, is that you do have to pay a deductable for each claim. But, considering the cost of a new Birkin or Kelly, it's not that much and would turn out to be less than paying for a sep. policy after a few years.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

I have been thinking about this issue ever since I bought my kelly and now that I have prchased this other bag...I think I might need to consider getting it.

 

[pigleto972001]

hey, this is a silly question i was wondering if you guys insure your bags at all? just wondering, i tried to add it to my homeowner's insurance but they said they'd only cover the first 1500 and that ain't going to fly! any opinions please

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ninja Sue]

Ask your insurance company if they will allow you to purchase a "rider" (like you would purchase to cover fine jewelry) to cover your bags. Most US insurance companies will either cover your bags (as long as you have proof of purchase) either as part of your "contents" limit (so make sure your contents limit is high enough) or they will only cover up to a certain amount per bag (like your insurance company said) and then they will let you purchase additional coverage on a rider or floater. Are you in the US?

 

[golconda]

Chubb and Fireman's Fund insurance are the easiest to work with on art, jewelry, bags.

 

[gga]

This is sorta part of what I do on a daily basis. Dealing with antique collectors, insurance questions pop up all the time.

I started collecting with a group of 19th and early 20th century handbags. I insured those puppies, no hesitation at all. I had them appraised and put on a rider to my regular insurance policy. If I had multiple new bags, a new, harder to find Birkin, or an Hermes with exotic skins, or a vintage Sac a Mallette (did I butcher that spelling?) I would probably insure a bag like that.

From my past experiences, I would think that the problem with insuring a bag like a single new Birkin as a rider would be that the insurance companies frequently charge a high enough fee that you could easily buy another handbag relatively quickly if you put that money in a savings account and didn't touch it.

Insuring vs. Not Insuring. It's a gamble.

I don't know if this helped. Hope I didn't ramble too much.

 

[misspiggy]

What a great thread Pigleto! I won't bother to insure a bag unless I have ...like...20 croc birkins with diamonds-galore sitting in a temperature-controlled room. Otherwise they are still just bags to be used and enjoyed <gotta keep a level head here OK or I start losing perspective>...

 

[misspiggy]

Which brings my thoughts back to that old thread about which bag/s you would save first if your house is on fire <knock on wood and God forbid>.

 

[Pepper]

I struggle with this question. Without having done the math, I figured it would cost more to insure these things than it was worth but I am by no means an expert. If I had something very fancy I would. I'm still working on having photos of them (being part of tPF has helped).

 

[smurfet]

This is sorta part of what I do on a daily basis. Dealing with antique collectors, insurance questions pop up all the time.

I started collecting with a group of 19th and early 20th century handbags. I insured those puppies, no hesitation at all. I had them appraised and put on a rider to my regular insurance policy. If I had multiple new bags, a new, harder to find Birkin, or an Hermes with exotic skins, or a vintage Sac a Mallette (did I butcher that spelling?) I would probably insure a bag like that.

From my past experiences, I would think that the problem with insuring a bag like a single new Birkin as a rider would be that the insurance companies frequently charge a high enough fee that you could easily buy another handbag relatively quickly if you put that money in a savings account and didn't touch it.

Insuring vs. Not Insuring. It's a gamble.

I don't know if this helped. Hope I didn't ramble too much.

Thanks for your expertise gga. Do you think it would be worth it to insure clothing? I have easily $200k+ in designer clothing (rough calculation). Most of the pieces will not be replacable b/c once the season ends, the style changes. But how does the insurance industry "depreciate" or discount the value of clothing? For example, if I have a beautiful favoriate Chanel suit from 1995 which had costed me $5k, would an insurance company pay me $5k or substantially less, even though it is a hard to replace item?