Model Railroad Insurance Coverage....


Greg@mnrr

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
My insurance agent "thinks" some of my model railroad collection would be covered under my homeowners policy. Mainly the locomotives, and rolling stock that can be given a defined value...forget the layout, track or structures. The agent is going to do some research on my question...mainly how much insurance coverage might I have with my policy, if any.

She recommended that I keep a well detailed inventory of all locomotives and rolling stock along with the date purchased and cost.

She also said that there are companies that insure collectibles and I should consider a separate policy for the collection.

What are your thoughts on obtaining model railroad insurance and is it worth the cost?

Thanks.

Greg
 
I got my stuff covered by the company that servers the NMRA. My home owners would cover it but they only cover contents up to a given dollar amount and that has to also include everything else in the house. That is not nearly enough. I mostly got the train "collection" covered separately when I was moving it from one location to another and had visions of a big wind gust or drunk driver crossing the median and having F3s and reefer cars spread all over I-70 in the middle of nowhere.

The NMRA sponsored company has three different coverage types. I choose the "blanket" coverage, because for the other coverages one needs a complete inventory (that would take me months to do). The coverage plans also include loss due to accident or theft at exhibitions, shows, and WHILE BEING TRANSPORTED. In addition to the NMRA discount, I also got a discount for having an alarm system on the house, and umm ummm a safe where I could store some of the most valuable pieces (eg. the Division Point Royal Gorge passenger cars). The things in the safe are only subject to danger when in use or at a show. Therefore, my blanket is for 80% of the collection. For several reasons I figured it would never be a 100% loss. 80% should cover a direct hit from a cat 4 or higher tornado on the main "train storage room".

Insurance certainly provides one with a sense of peace and one less thing to worry about. My policy is $610 per year. I am still trying to get everything cataloged and documented to move to one of the other coverage types which would be cheaper. I am guessing the worth will be a factor of both size and quality of an individual's "train collection" vs the risk factor. Does one live in a high crime area, flood plain, or where hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanos, or earthquakes are common?
 
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When you think about all the money that we put into our "hobby" getting it covered with insurance is a great idea, so long as it cost effective and depending on the if's and but's. If there was such a thing then I'd be interested at looking into it.
 
Check with the agent that insures your house. They should be able to tell you if your Model RR stuff is or isn't covered by your homeowners policy. Remember, don't assume your policy will cover it, just because your friend in another state, province or country has coverage. Policies differ. Specialty insurers may be your best bet.
 
Greg, You might consider a "stated value" policy if you have lots of scratch built items or brass that have gone way up in value. They are more costly but perhaps worth consideration if you had to start over again.

But lots of photographs with a good point&shoot camera are a good thing to put on several CDs and make sure they are not stored in your house (fire).
 
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