Firearm Insurance

[shoupdawg]

i have AAA home owners and firearms are covered at no extra cost. they will pay up to the total of your personal property amount. for example i have over 200k in just personal property coverage and my homeowners ins. total premiums is around 1100.00 a year.

I have aaa too. I'm covered up to like $2500 inside the house. The rider for coverage anywhere...is like 10 bucks per 1000 in firearms.

[tileguy]

i just talked to my agent at AAA last month and was told firearms are part of personal property and do not need a rider and are covered for the amount of your personal property coverage.

[k1dude]

i just talked to my agent at AAA last month and was told firearms are part of personal property and do not need a rider and are covered for the amount of your personal property coverage.

Have him show it to you in writing. If it isn't in writing, his words are meaningless.

[586L-Frame]

Have him show it to you in writing. If it isn't in writing, his words are meaningless.

Ditto! Listen to what K1dude just said.
586L-Frame

[duckman1]

i just talked to my agent at AAA last month and was told firearms are part of personal property and do not need a rider and are covered for the amount of your personal property coverage.

If you want to be sure read your policy. Any limit will in the property section titled Special Limits of Insurance. It will also include limits on Jewelery and Money and Precious Metals.


Caveat: The limits typically only apply to loss by theft.

[peterabbits]

I asked my agent about this today (FYI, he's my dad). I have AAA. Covered in full up to policy property coverage limit. That having been said, this could be a SoCal / NorCal difference - technically they are a different company in SoCal and therefore could have different rules. Ymmv.

[Bert Gamble]

I just made the application to Collectors Insurance. $51 a year to cover $6500 in guns is not bad.

[ih8ca]

Collectors Insurance has a great reputation in the sportscard industry.

[Mezcalfud]

be careful with homeowners coverage- many cover loss (to a limit) for fire but not theft.

[scout II]

I use these guys: http://www.corevensguninsurance.com/
About $350.00 a year for $100,000.00 policy.And less premium for less coverage.You don't have to give them serial numbers on any one item valued at less than $10,00.00.If it is worth more than 10K,then they want to know about it.I have had them for about 4 years now.

[SanPedroShooter]

If you can get USAA, they have a great attachment to your house or renters policy for things like guns and jewelry etc..

The plan I am looking at is for total coverage, like even if you left a gun at the range or on top of the toliet tank at the gas station like you always read about. It doesnt cost that much either but you have to be active or prior service or have a close relative or spouse that was. I get everything through them, banking, loans, insurance. The most accomodating and helpful financial company I have ever dealt with. Banking and insurance with the other big names was like a constant fight to avoid getting screwed. Sometimes I feel like I am taking advantage of USAA, they treat me so well. Its an odd feeling

[roushstage3]

Most homeowners will cover firearms for theft or fire, but there are limitations. Check with your company as you can get floaters that will up the limits and per item limits. Always good to know what coverage you have before a loss.

I also recommend taking pictures and video if you have it of your personal items. Then make a list of cost and price. Keep that just in case you have that loss. Helps with the claims process.

[RedFord150]

Check for a per item limit.

You are correct. My AAA policy limits theft coverage to $1,500.00 per gun. I only have one gun valued slightly higher than this and I would use my NRA insurance to cover this one. In my case, I am relying on both policies (NRA and AAA) to cover my entire collection up to $7,500.00. This is sufficient for me.

[The Gleam]

I just got my NRA renewal and it came with the complimentary $2500.00 firearm insurance and I took advantage of it. Well I decided to see how the coverage was and found out that most homeowners insurance policies don't cover firearms.

Also be aware of and check the policy for the following:

1) Per firearm max limit; can be different for handguns vs. long-guns, or from modern guns vs. C&R/Antique.

2) Your deductible; could be as much as the value of a single firearm and you can often get this reduced for just slightly more in premium.

3) Out-of-vault versus in-vault sub-limits or exclusions. (Such as, if in your safe at home and someone breaks into the safe, full-limit is covered up to your collection; however, if firearm is in your car trunk or stolen at the shooting range - lesser limits (up to $5,000 max), a higher deductible, or a steeper exclusion may apply. Stolen from an unattended vehicle often carries FULL exclusion for coverage.

4) Some policies have lower rates for antique guns, such as those made prior to 1951, or deemed C&R, or limited numbers, etc. the thinking being that they are rarely taken out of vault for use and won't be at as high an exposure for theft. You may save on premium by revealing this to your insurance company or broker: (ie., a 1900 Luger may actually be cheaper to insure per/$100 than a modern H&K USP Elite. You could save $$ breaking it out.)

5) Verify values with the carrier and/or save purchase and any custom-smithing receipts; i.e., you have a Colt 1991 A1 but you have a ton of custom-work done to it, in excess of $1,700 in gun-smithing alone. The material value is well over the blue-book or MSRP of a typical Colt 1991 A1, but if stolen, without receipts, an appraisal, or receipt if the gun came that way, without showing the value of the work that had been done on the gun, the insurance company will revert to replacement cost of a standard Colt 1991 A1, they won't just take your word for it. Same goes for cars, custom bikes, etc. Keep receipts.

6) They won't be able to replace the inherent value to you for any RAW or high-capacity magazine items as legally they can't be replaced; again, here replacement cost value falls in category of what is legally available to you. Market value would dictate. "Unobtanium" value due to laws doesn't play into the replacement cost value of a like-in-kind gun if you can't replace it with the same thing legally. So if there is a way to slate the rarity value of a pre-ban gun, get it in writing before a loss occurs. Document its value. Such as, your pre-ban Colt AR15 from 1981 would have a collectible value, but as a CA resident, you may only get to replace it with a bullet-button OLL rifle. Even as a Colt AR15, it's value even in other states is greater than a typical BB OLL so get it in writing.

7) Upon a loss, in absence of receipts, if the insurance company tries to low-ball you on the value of a certain model gun, present finished auctions and sales within a few hundred miles of your zip-code to argue their valuation. Again, this can be done with cars, motorcycles and anything else. This couldn't be done for the 1981 Colt AR15 in CA as there wouldn't be any sales anywhere near your zip-code in CA, but other states' sales/auctions on such a collectible could be used to establish a value higher than what they want to give you for replacement cost of a typical AR15 BB OLL in CA.

8) Check if scheduling versus unscheduled will give you a lower premium for the same limits covered. Sometimes it will, but many people are adverse to that because of the info divulged. This is personal choice but could be benefit by establishing the guns' value up front BEFORE a loss.

9) Check on blanketing the limit across the whole collection; this can be good in case scheduling is required or done voluntarily, but you have an allowable "unscheduled" limit such as if you got something new but forgot to advise the insurance company or broker of the addition.

10) Ask your broker/insurance company to keep all correspondence confidential concerning itemized schedules. Tell them to keep the schedule OUT of their electronic/computer account management files and only keep hard files, and NOT list within the policy but advise "see attached/on file". (This may prove difficult in the modern world, but ask and get it in writing). You don't want the unlicensed clerk from the temp-agency perusing your file and finding out where you live and the list of goodies you own.

11) If you have a highly valuable collection, hire a certified appraiser to review your collection and ascertain values. Update it at least once every 10 years (at least every 5 if you can afford to).

12) Either In conjunction with or even in the absence of a appraisal report, make a video or take photos of ALL your guns, one by one with close-ups of the serial numbers if possible, or audio dictation of the gun on the video to point out features. If you forgot to advise the insurance company on any new purchases, or there was a feature about a particular gun you forgot to document, it can be proven/shown on the video or in photos. (i.e., it wasn't just any SVT-40, it had sniper/scope rails, and certain Russian markings with all matching numbers - not an arsenal re-work, etc.)