Firearms Insurance

PH/CIB · December 15, 2012, 12:21 PM

I have an excellent alarm system, a great safe, a wonderful dog, and the reassurance of firearms insurance.

I have my firearms insurance through Armed Forces Insurance out of Leavenworth, Kansas, and you do have to be a Veteran to get insurance through them…My firearms insurance is exactly the same as my household insurance, as there is no special rider, no special fees or additional cost and no scheduling of firearms. My firearms are covered under my personal property along with everything else in my house, for example my dwelling or house is covered by $210,000 and my personal property in the house is covered $210,000 and my annual premium is $731. Now my gun collection is worth nowhere near $210,000, however if it were it would be covered for that amount. Realize also that if someone were to steal everything in the house or a fire or wind destroy everything in the house, kind of hard to do with an alarm system and the police and fire only minutes away, that $210,000 would have to cover not only my gun collection but everything else in the house also. This coverage also covers all my riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, gun cases, stored ammunition, everything firearm related and does not cost me anything more than my annual house insurance premium of $731,

You do need to provide proof of ownership, a video tape, receipts or some kind of record of ownership of your firearms and all household belongings, but only if you have a claim, so you should store such a record with a friend or relative or in a safety deposit box at a bank so it is not stolen or destroyed in a fire or tornado for example.

My own personal opinion Armed Forces Insurance is an excellent company and everyone I have dealt with there has been friendly and helpful, if you are a Veteran and interested you can contact them at 800-255-6792.

For you folks who are not Veterans, there is according to my Independent Insurance Agent one other company that does this and accepts anyone, that company is called Safeco and as I have not had any dealings with them I cannot say positive or negative either way but you can contact them at 800-332-3226.

I am not an employee of either Company and I do not receive any Compensation from either Company, and I have not had any claims with either Company, this is just to provide hopefully helpful information, but as with any information put your thinking cap on and choose wisely.

Hopefully there will be other Forum Members who can chime in on
this.

johnwilliamson062 · December 15, 2012, 10:42 PM

SafeCo used to cover firearms without a specific limit. The agency I worked for started representing them right before I moved on. I wanted to market the policy at the local gun club and they weren't too keen on the idea and though no one would be interested in insuring firearms above the specified limit.

Bill DeShivs · December 16, 2012, 02:58 AM

Collectors Insurance Agency.

**Aguila Blanca** · December 16, 2012, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PH/CIB

I have my firearms insurance through Armed Forces Insurance out of Leavenworth, Kansas, and you do have to be a Veteran to get insurance through them…My firearms insurance is exactly the same as my household insurance, as there is no special rider, no special fees or additional cost and no scheduling of firearms. My firearms are covered under my personal property along with everything else in my house, for example my dwelling or house is covered by $210,000 and my personal property in the house is covered $210,000 and my annual premium is $731. Now my gun collection is worth nowhere near $210,000, however if it were it would be covered for that amount. Realize also that if someone were to steal everything in the house or a fire or wind destroy everything in the house, kind of hard to do with an alarm system and the police and fire only minutes away, that $210,000 would have to cover not only my gun collection but everything else in the house also. This coverage also covers all my riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, gun cases, stored ammunition, everything firearm related and does not cost me anything more than my annual house insurance premium of $731,

Your explanation of your coverage is VERY unclear, but it appears that you do NOT have special coverage for your guns, it sounds like they are just lumped in with your personal property under a single coverage with a total limit of $210,000. That's not great.

I'll add a second vote for Collectors Insurance Agency (www.collectinsure.com).

PH/CIB · December 16, 2012, 01:53 PM

“””Your explanation of your coverage is VERY unclear, but it appears that you do NOT have special coverage for your guns, it sounds like they are just lumped in with your personal property under a single coverage with a total limit of $210,000. That's not great.

I'll add a second vote for Collectors Insurance Agency (www.collectinsure.com).”””

Excellent Reply,,,Aguila Blanca

I checked out Collectibles Insurance Website and I want to Thank You and Bill DeShivs for that information,,,looks like a great company with great rates for instance if I am reading correctly on their “Estimated Gun Collector Annual Premium Chart” if you had $200000 worth of firearms the annual premium would be $701 a year with valid safeguards,,,for a firearms collection of $100000 the annual premium would be $500 a year with valid safeguards,,,for a firearms collection of $50000 the annual premium would be $260 a year with valid safeguards and for a firearms collection of $10000 the annual premium would be $56 a year.

These are more than reasonable rates where almost anybody could and should be able to insure their firearms.

However through Armed Forces Insurance my firearms are insured through my regular household insurance and I pay absolutely nothing extra for that insurance,,,since we all need and probably most of us have household insurance or even apartment insurance,,,how is that anything but a good deal???

**Aguila Blanca** · December 16, 2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PH/CIB

However through Armed Forces Insurance my firearms are insured through my regular household insurance and I pay absolutely nothing extra for that insurance,,,since we all need and probably most of us have household insurance or even apartment insurance,,,how is that anything but a good deal???

Whether or not it's a great deal depends entirely on how much everything else in your house or apartment is worth. Let's suppose that there's some sort of natural disaster and that everything is either lost, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair. What's it all worth?

Are you married? Does your wife have any jewelry? How about tools? Camera(s)? Computer(s)? Furniture? Clothing and household goods such as bedding, towels, etc.? Kitchen equipment? Home entertainment center?

I was just in a Sears a couple of hours ago, killing time while my wife was elsewhere in the mall. Naturally, I wandered through the tool department. One click-release torque wrench is $79.95. I think I have four. (I'm a Jeep hobbyist.) I think I could top $210,000 on tools alone, without even starting on my wife's jewelry or household goods.

johnwilliamson062 · December 16, 2012, 10:38 PM

FOr most companies you can increase your personal property coverage with a rider. I knew one antique collector who had double their house value in personal property coverage. You can do it MUCH MUCH more cheaply than buying a separate policy from what I have seen.

Sometimes you do not get as extensive of coverage as you could if you scheduled items. For instance if you dropped a $50,000 shotgun that was scheduled, under most policies you could make a claim to have the stock and metal refinished. Some separate policies may contain such coverage.

Also look at those "safeguards in place" clauses. I know there was at least one provider that had some pretty absurd requirements. Such as, if your safe was open at the time of fire or theft, independent of circumstances, no coverage. Same for anything outside the safe, such as a gun you were cleaning.

5.56RifleGuy · December 17, 2012, 01:48 AM

deleted

PH/CIB · December 19, 2012, 08:46 PM

"""Whether or not it's a great deal depends entirely on how much everything else in your house or apartment is worth. Let's suppose that there's some sort of natural disaster and that everything is either lost, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair. What's it all worth?""" Aguila Blanca

Yes, that logic is correct since in the case of Armed Forces Insurance your firearms are totally covered by your household insurance with no extra charge in price,,,you should have your household contents insurance for the total worth or cost of replacement of your gun collection and all of your other household items added together.

angel71rs · December 21, 2012, 03:15 AM

Good insurance info, thanks all.

Ozzieman · January 7, 2013, 06:07 PM

I find some of the quotes that many of you are quoting are surprising.
It’s funny, just today I started looking. I have two fire proof safes that I estimated the value of just the guns to $20K. I contacted AAA today and asked for an estimate for insurance. They insure my home.
580$. My home and 70 SS Chevell together are only 750$.
I think I’ll be checking your sources.
Thanks.

December 15, 2012, 12:21 PM	#1
PH/CIB Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 281	Firearms Insurance I have an excellent alarm system, a great safe, a wonderful dog, and the reassurance of firearms insurance. I have my firearms insurance through Armed Forces Insurance out of Leavenworth, Kansas, and you do have to be a Veteran to get insurance through them…My firearms insurance is exactly the same as my household insurance, as there is no special rider, no special fees or additional cost and no scheduling of firearms. My firearms are covered under my personal property along with everything else in my house, for example my dwelling or house is covered by $210,000 and my personal property in the house is covered $210,000 and my annual premium is $731. Now my gun collection is worth nowhere near $210,000, however if it were it would be covered for that amount. Realize also that if someone were to steal everything in the house or a fire or wind destroy everything in the house, kind of hard to do with an alarm system and the police and fire only minutes away, that $210,000 would have to cover not only my gun collection but everything else in the house also. This coverage also covers all my riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, gun cases, stored ammunition, everything firearm related and does not cost me anything more than my annual house insurance premium of $731, You do need to provide proof of ownership, a video tape, receipts or some kind of record of ownership of your firearms and all household belongings, but only if you have a claim, so you should store such a record with a friend or relative or in a safety deposit box at a bank so it is not stolen or destroyed in a fire or tornado for example. My own personal opinion Armed Forces Insurance is an excellent company and everyone I have dealt with there has been friendly and helpful, if you are a Veteran and interested you can contact them at 800-255-6792. For you folks who are not Veterans, there is according to my Independent Insurance Agent one other company that does this and accepts anyone, that company is called Safeco and as I have not had any dealings with them I cannot say positive or negative either way but you can contact them at 800-332-3226. I am not an employee of either Company and I do not receive any Compensation from either Company, and I have not had any claims with either Company, this is just to provide hopefully helpful information, but as with any information put your thinking cap on and choose wisely. Hopefully there will be other Forum Members who can chime in on this. __________________ Life Member,,,Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Amvets, Disabled American Veterans, 173rd Airborne Skysoldier Association, National Rifle Association, Member,,,IDPA, USPSA, Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association,,Website http://www.handgunholsters.net Last edited by PH/CIB; December 15, 2012 at 12:36 PM.

December 16, 2012, 02:58 AM	#3
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,981	Collectors Insurance Agency. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

December 16, 2012, 01:53 PM	#5
PH/CIB Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 281	“””Your explanation of your coverage is VERY unclear, but it appears that you do NOT have special coverage for your guns, it sounds like they are just lumped in with your personal property under a single coverage with a total limit of $210,000. That's not great. I'll add a second vote for Collectors Insurance Agency (www.collectinsure.com).””” Excellent Reply,,,Aguila Blanca I checked out Collectibles Insurance Website and I want to Thank You and Bill DeShivs for that information,,,looks like a great company with great rates for instance if I am reading correctly on their “Estimated Gun Collector Annual Premium Chart” if you had $200000 worth of firearms the annual premium would be $701 a year with valid safeguards,,,for a firearms collection of $100000 the annual premium would be $500 a year with valid safeguards,,,for a firearms collection of $50000 the annual premium would be $260 a year with valid safeguards and for a firearms collection of $10000 the annual premium would be $56 a year. These are more than reasonable rates where almost anybody could and should be able to insure their firearms. However through Armed Forces Insurance my firearms are insured through my regular household insurance and I pay absolutely nothing extra for that insurance,,,since we all need and probably most of us have household insurance or even apartment insurance,,,how is that anything but a good deal??? __________________ Life Member,,,Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Amvets, Disabled American Veterans, 173rd Airborne Skysoldier Association, National Rifle Association, Member,,,IDPA, USPSA, Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association,,Website http://www.handgunholsters.net

December 17, 2012, 01:48 AM	#8
5.56RifleGuy Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 2010 Location: USA Posts: 1,212	deleted Last edited by 5.56RifleGuy; December 17, 2012 at 01:52 AM. Reason: wrong info

December 19, 2012, 08:46 PM	#9
PH/CIB Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 281	"""Whether or not it's a great deal depends entirely on how much everything else in your house or apartment is worth. Let's suppose that there's some sort of natural disaster and that everything is either lost, destroyed, or damaged beyond repair. What's it all worth?""" Aguila Blanca Yes, that logic is correct since in the case of Armed Forces Insurance your firearms are totally covered by your household insurance with no extra charge in price,,,you should have your household contents insurance for the total worth or cost of replacement of your gun collection and all of your other household items added together. __________________ Life Member,,,Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Amvets, Disabled American Veterans, 173rd Airborne Skysoldier Association, National Rifle Association, Member,,,IDPA, USPSA, Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association,,Website http://www.handgunholsters.net

December 15, 2012, 10:42 PM	#2
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	SafeCo used to cover firearms without a specific limit. The agency I worked for started representing them right before I moved on. I wanted to market the policy at the local gun club and they weren't too keen on the idea and though no one would be interested in insuring firearms above the specified limit.

December 16, 2012, 10:38 PM	#7
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	FOr most companies you can increase your personal property coverage with a rider. I knew one antique collector who had double their house value in personal property coverage. You can do it MUCH MUCH more cheaply than buying a separate policy from what I have seen. Sometimes you do not get as extensive of coverage as you could if you scheduled items. For instance if you dropped a $50,000 shotgun that was scheduled, under most policies you could make a claim to have the stock and metal refinished. Some separate policies may contain such coverage. Also look at those "safeguards in place" clauses. I know there was at least one provider that had some pretty absurd requirements. Such as, if your safe was open at the time of fire or theft, independent of circumstances, no coverage. Same for anything outside the safe, such as a gun you were cleaning.

December 21, 2012, 03:15 AM	#10
angel71rs Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2009 Location: TX Posts: 139	Good insurance info, thanks all.

January 7, 2013, 06:07 PM	#11
Ozzieman Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 6,117	I find some of the quotes that many of you are quoting are surprising. It’s funny, just today I started looking. I have two fire proof safes that I estimated the value of just the guns to $20K. I contacted AAA today and asked for an estimate for insurance. They insure my home. 580$. My home and 70 SS Chevell together are only 750$. I think I’ll be checking your sources. Thanks. __________________ It was a sad day when I discovered my universal remote control did not in fact control the universe. Did you hear about the latest study.....5 out of 6 liberals say that Russian Roulette is safe.