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Hey all,
Google seems to have let me down so I'm turning to everyone here. In about a week I'm going to take part of my gun collection out of storage in California and transport them in checked luggage to Hawaii, where I'm living at the moment. I've read over the rules for transporting firearms on my airline's website (Alaska Airlines) and the procedures seem fairly straightforward. What seems near impossible to find is affordable insurance for my guns should they get lost or stolen in transit.
As best as I can tell I can pretty much bring any amount of guns with me as long as they all fit in one standard side chunk of luggage (I'm thinking one fairly large rifle case) as long as it's less than 50lbs. I can bring a combination of long guns and handguns in that case. My plan is for two rifles and 3 or 4 handguns, somehow nestled safely in one case. Luckily for me I'm making just one single flight, no connections. So far the only thing I can find is "Trip Insurance" that happens to include a bit of luggage insurance. They all seem to insure me for things that I don't care about, like if I need to cancel my trip or my travel partner comes down with Malaria or something. The luggage insurance is woefully inadequate, like $500 total coverage. I've checked with my bank/credit card company to see if they offer anything, they don't. A friend recommended I check with my Renter's Insurance carrier, only I don't have renter's insurance.
I don't see why this whole mess is any different from shipping my property via UPS or FedEx. I want this box sent from Point A to Point B, and the box is worth $1000. I pay UPS some small amount of money for $1000 worth of insurance and if my box gets stolen or lost...I get $1000! Seems a simple enough system, right? Why can't luggage be handled the same way?
I'm still not entirely certain about which guns I'm bringing but I figure that if the whole box gets lost/stolen the replacement costs will run around $4000. It occurs to me that I'm not the first person who has ever flown with expensive guns in luggage before, there must be plenty of hunters and competition shooters who fly with individual guns worth many thousands of dollars each. How do these people protect themselves from loss?
I've read that even if stuff gets lost I'd need to provide receipts for my property proving the "value" of what they misplaced, and that they'll try to depreciate the value of my stuff due to age or use. A fair number of my guns were purchased from friends, there was no contract or receipt. Even if receipts existed the value of most of my guns has gone up from my purchase price, certainly not a depreciation! It wouldn't do me any good to have a receipt for my FAL that shows I paid $300 for it 5 years ago. What, I only get $300 if the airline loses it? It doesn't matter that I'd likely have to spend $800 to replace it? Any advice?
Sorry for being long-winded, I'm pouring out the frustrations I've been feeling for the last week trying to research this mess. Any and all guidance on insurance or flying with guns would be appreciated. Meanwhile I'm continuing to search for answers on my own. The earlier I get this hammered out the better, my clock is definitely ticking.
Please help!
Thanks! Ryan
how to apply value on guns?
Google seems to have let me down so I'm turning to everyone here. In about a week I'm going to take part of my gun collection out of storage in California and transport them in checked luggage to Hawaii, where I'm living at the moment. I've read over the rules for transporting firearms on my airline's website (Alaska Airlines) and the procedures seem fairly straightforward. What seems near impossible to find is affordable insurance for my guns should they get lost or stolen in transit.
As best as I can tell I can pretty much bring any amount of guns with me as long as they all fit in one standard side chunk of luggage (I'm thinking one fairly large rifle case) as long as it's less than 50lbs. I can bring a combination of long guns and handguns in that case. My plan is for two rifles and 3 or 4 handguns, somehow nestled safely in one case. Luckily for me I'm making just one single flight, no connections. So far the only thing I can find is "Trip Insurance" that happens to include a bit of luggage insurance. They all seem to insure me for things that I don't care about, like if I need to cancel my trip or my travel partner comes down with Malaria or something. The luggage insurance is woefully inadequate, like $500 total coverage. I've checked with my bank/credit card company to see if they offer anything, they don't. A friend recommended I check with my Renter's Insurance carrier, only I don't have renter's insurance.
I don't see why this whole mess is any different from shipping my property via UPS or FedEx. I want this box sent from Point A to Point B, and the box is worth $1000. I pay UPS some small amount of money for $1000 worth of insurance and if my box gets stolen or lost...I get $1000! Seems a simple enough system, right? Why can't luggage be handled the same way?
I'm still not entirely certain about which guns I'm bringing but I figure that if the whole box gets lost/stolen the replacement costs will run around $4000. It occurs to me that I'm not the first person who has ever flown with expensive guns in luggage before, there must be plenty of hunters and competition shooters who fly with individual guns worth many thousands of dollars each. How do these people protect themselves from loss?
I've read that even if stuff gets lost I'd need to provide receipts for my property proving the "value" of what they misplaced, and that they'll try to depreciate the value of my stuff due to age or use. A fair number of my guns were purchased from friends, there was no contract or receipt. Even if receipts existed the value of most of my guns has gone up from my purchase price, certainly not a depreciation! It wouldn't do me any good to have a receipt for my FAL that shows I paid $300 for it 5 years ago. What, I only get $300 if the airline loses it? It doesn't matter that I'd likely have to spend $800 to replace it? Any advice?
Sorry for being long-winded, I'm pouring out the frustrations I've been feeling for the last week trying to research this mess. Any and all guidance on insurance or flying with guns would be appreciated. Meanwhile I'm continuing to search for answers on my own. The earlier I get this hammered out the better, my clock is definitely ticking.
Please help!
Thanks! Ryan
how to apply value on guns?
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