All About Pocket Knives

A recent post I read here got me to thinking about insurance coverage on knife collections.

Some homeowners policies have some pretty serious limitations on the amount of coverage they provide for collections or collectables. Some are particularly restrictive when it comes to theft coverage.
If you aren't sure what your policy covers, I suggest you read it carefully and if you still have questions, call your agent. You may need to purchase additional coverage beyond that provided under your current policy.
It is also a good idea to document your collection as thoroughly as possible with a detailed list of your knives and their conditions. Photographs are always helpful as well. Don't store your records with your knives. If possible, store the records somewhere away from your home (like a safe deposit box) so that they do not get stolen with the knives or burn up in a fire.
The same thing applies for other collections you may have as well.

The time to do it is now, not after someone rips you off, or you suffer a fire loss.
Then it is too late!

Phil

the insurance adjusters tell you what it is worth, not the other way around... LOL

tmwsiy wrote:the insurance adjusters tell you what it is worth, not the other way around... LOL

I am an insurance adjuster. If you take the time and trouble to document your collection like I have suggested, the chances are much greater you will get a fair and reasonable settlement in the event of a loss. Not all insurance companies are out to get you, but you do have the burden of proof. In other words you have to prove to the insurance company what your loss is and what the value of the items you have lost is. If you can produce records and photos of your collection, you're way ahead of the game.

You can schedule the collection for the value you and the Insurance company agree on before the loss occurs. A specific floater or endorsment will solve the problem. An appraisal in advance filed with the Insurer will suffice.

You should do the same with your Jewelry and guns, as they are also limited on your Homeowners policies.

Contents of your home are only insured for specified perils named in your policy .
There is a limit for theft in most policies of $2,000 to $2,500 depending on the insuring company, unless you make other arrangments such as I have mentioned>
Dave O. Your Independant Insurance Agent.

Legalized Extortion

Nothing will happen to your stuff IF you pay me every month!


Dave

knowtracks wrote:Legalized Extortion

Nothing will happen to your stuff IF you pay me every month!


Dave

Well at least your going about this legally Dave....And for the 52nd time I am not paying you $50 bucks this month either...

Sunburst

knowtracks wrote:Legalized Extortion

Nothing will happen to your stuff IF you pay me every month!


Dave

Hey Dave,
If you don't like insurance, don't buy insurance. I simply posted this because I thought it might be helpful information for some of our members. I'm sure a lot of them have substantial investements in their knife collection.
Extortion happens when someone threatens you with harm if you do not pay. No one from the insurance company is threatening to harm you or your stuff. Insurance is simply a means of avoiding financial risks you do not want to have to take or cannot afford to take.

Phil

It is sometimes important to discuss topics before the loss instead of after. "Why didn't you tell me it wasn't covered" ? " Why didn't you read your Damn'd Policy?" We are trying to educate you here gents, not sell you insurance! If you have a 2.5 Carat Diamond that your spouse is wearing around and she loses it and you have not made arrangments to replace it, you are in a lot of trouble. Wake up! It is not insured against LOSS if it is not SCHEDULED! Same with your knives. They are not Insured unless they are SCHEDULED! Don't bother to thank me. It's my job. You boys seem to have a bad attitude about insurance, you must be insured with State Farm to be that pissed off!

i lost my wedding ring about six months ago. and ilost it at home. when i called my insurance company about it since i was honest and said i lost it. of course it wasnt covered. but i was even more suprisd to find out that JEWELRY is in a seperate ccatergory.

my agent is pretty forward with me. i asked him about tis subject and he said if you collect knives be very carefull as some policies count knives as jewelry. since insurance companies have proved time and time again that knives can contain gold and jewels they are covered under the jewlery section. but every policy is different . i found out with mine that the only exclusion is jewelry. regardless of how much is stolel. my insurance will only cover 2500$.

my agent was honest enough to say that the reason insurance companies do this is because of almost all break ins the jewlery is of course the first thing thieves go for.therefore when a thief gets chased away ,yeah he might have just got the jewelry box. thank god were covered. oopps your agent forgot to tell you that for jewlery you only get 1000$ or 2000$.

my fiends policy gives him 1000$ on jewlery with a 500$ deductible. THATS CRAZY!!!!!!!! i wouldnt even accept that coverage!

i beleive its the customers responsibility to read everything they sign. i also beleive that a seller of any product including insurance though should be very thorough when explaining it.

i have put more effort into an ebay auction then most insurance guys have put into explaing my policy.

once again though your the customer ,its your money,know what your buying.

when it comes to homeowners think off it protecting your home. things like jewelry get real insurance.put them in a floor safe.

as far as selling insurance i think as long as you do it well and care about the folks you work with then good for you. its a decent way to make a living.

My wife and I talked about a seperate policy for my knives but there were just too many obstacles or hoops to jump through when talking to my insurance man. I went out and purchased a gun safe, mounted it to the floor and now have a safe happy home for my knives and my guns plus its fireproof and the wife puts our important papers in it as well.

If someone wants to steal it or crack the code to get it open more power to them...They will have earned it..

Sunburst

Phil this was a really good thread. People need to think about it before hand. I think I do the wise thing (I think), almost all of my knives are in the BANK VAULT at my local bank and all are cataloged most are pictured. Hopefully fire-proof and theft proof. But it is expensive... I should buy a gun safe and bolt it to my basement floor it would be alot cheaper but haven't....

Sunburst,
I have my goodies stored in a gun safe as well. But here's something I'd like to share with you from my years in the insurance business.

Story number one:
I worked a fire loss a few years back where the people had a small fire in the bedroom where the owners gunsafe was located. The safe was at the opposite end of a long room about 30 feet from the fire. When the owner opened up the safe at my urging, he found that all his guns had pitting on the metal as a result of the acidic smoke that had infiltrated the gun safe.
He had about 30 guns ruined as a result.

Story number two:
I worked a theft claim years ago where the theives broke into the house, tied a cable around the owners gunsafe and hitched the cable to a four wheel drive truck and literally yanked the safe loose from its moorings. They then pulled the entire safe through the house to the back door, tearing the place apart in the process. They then loaded the safe in their truck and hauled it away. We paid for the structural damage and the policy limit on guns. The owner lost not only the remaining value of stolen guns (about 10 grand) but he also lost $167,000 in cash he had stored in the safe. He didn't believe in banks he said.

I tell you all this for two reasons; to let you know insurance is more interesting than you might think and to show you it's best not to have too much faith or dependence in a safe.
Like I said, I have mine in a safe, but I have them insured too.

Phil

I am an insurance agent , and have been for 37 years. I have two gun safes, and knives strung all over the house. I do not have a dollars worth of Insurance on the knives or Guns. I am willing to take the risk. The SCHEDULING would cost more than I am willing to pay for the additional insurance on my Homeowners Policy. I just thought it good to advise you that Scheduleing was available and the only way to solve your problem if you have a $100,000 dollars worth of Customs in your home and thought they would be automatically taken care of by your Policy. This was a good topic, and we have covered it well. There is a place in society for Insurance. It allowes us to do things that otherwise we would not take the risk if we couldn't insure that risk. So if some of you want to bad mouth insurance do so, We were just trying to help.

Well shucks. My knives are sitting in a display cabinet ready to be carted off. Guess it's time to call the insurance agent. I really liked this thread. Very informative.

A&E I am so glad that I started this in you post.

It is nice to see you all adding to it here.

One thing that was not brought up is. That most insurance policies are state regulated. They do differ state by state.

One more thing I want to bring up is. Best to buy from your ins. agent and NOT on line. Many polices sold on line do not come up to your states guild lines. This means that the policy might NOT pay you for your loss.

A&E your display case is soooo good looking. I would just hate to see some one barrow it from you. It looks like some one can pick it up using those two handles and cart off with you knives too.

As hard times are falling on all of us again, and GANG's all around us. I feel the crime rates will increase.

Our insurer (Pemco) says that we're covered up to $135,000 for personal property, when my wife asked about collectibles.

Looking at our policy, we see that:

firearms - $2500
cash - $200
animals, birds, fish - not covered
motorized vehicles - not covered
property in apts - not covered
boats - $1500
electronics in car - $1000
securities, accts, deeds, evidences, of debt, etc - $1500
jewelry - $3000
silverware - $7500
business property - different amounts

but nothing specific for collectibles!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . I'm thinking knives MUST fall under one of these categories somewhere!

sunburst wrote:My wife and I talked about a seperate policy for my knives but there were just too many obstacles or hoops to jump through when talking to my insurance man. I went out and purchased a gun safe, mounted it to the floor and now have a safe happy home for my knives and my guns plus its fireproof and the wife puts our important papers in it as well.

If someone wants to steal it or crack the code to get it open more power to them...They will have earned it..

Sunburst

Insurance at this point would not cover what my collection is worth. So I also keep my $100 plus knives in a safe (a vintage one at that, an old TOP SECRET goverment safe) Nothings fire proof I thought but this thing would handle your basic fire.

A&E in your case I would list all you want insured and place a $ value on it. Add all them up and add the SUPER show case, Then take that list to your agent. He will add it to your policy or sell you a policy that just covers the list (for a fee). Best to ask your agent. Then you can make up your own mind.

lenny357 many of us do the same thing (placeing them in a safe).
But then you only get to see them every 6 mo. Some times I just like to show them off in a display case for a few mo's. So I take the risk and enjoy them.

I'll say it again... insurance *adjusters don't go by figures/values that you give them...

*-key word

A security system would be a very good idea to protect you
and your property. They come in all price ranges and most
insurance companies will give you a break on your policy.

tmwsiy in my state. my policy will cover the knife for the amount I list them at.

skoal very good point.

One more point to insure your knives is a good DOG....

My son and wife were in bed one night this summer. Some one cut the screen and entered throught the window. Their DOG started barking and the crook took off with only an emty purce. They now have a gun in their bed room...

If you sabotage your anonymity on the internet, such as on this forum, or if you put a sticker in your car window that proudly announces that you are a member of the NRA, guess what that makes you --- a target. Although I am willing to buck the odds, just like most gun owners, the sad truth is that homeowners who are able to successfully defend their home with a gun are few and far between. Usually the thief takes the gun, but sometimes he uses it or his own to shoot the homeowner. Once in a great while the homeowner wins. Collecting and ownership of anything, and how it is protected, implies risk and it implies gambling. If you have your stuff out where you can play with it, you are gambling that it won't get stolen. If you insure it, you are gambling that it WILL get stolen, I guess. The bottom line, perhaps, is that the owner is a very lucky man in any case, one of a microscopic sector of humanity that owns much more than some shitty clothing and bad food.

For the cost of one or two knives you get the peace of mind that they are covered. You insure your Home for that same peace of mind or to satisfy the Mortagee. If you had lived in Some areas of California recently you would have used your insurance and been very glad you had it. Like I have mentioned before and should now back off, but can't resist... 30+ years of seeing insurance work in society has made me a believer. I recently paid $600,000 for a business to be restored to it's former functioning entity. The man can continue feeding his children and the emloyees continue to have a job. I see Workmans Compensation Claims paying injured workers almost daily. Insurance is an integral part of our society that works better than any part of our Federal Government which you pay much much more of your hard earned dollar to. I am amazed at the attitude and negative undertones I feel and see here toward insurance. Is it ignorance, or have you really felt that you have been screwed at some time in your life???? If so you have been dealing with the wrong insurance people, because most are people of integrity. They have to be to stay in business.