I’ll add a couple of my opinions on this topic.
First, a reasonable wine collection that’s worth more than a super fancy TV warrants a line item on an already strong home insurance policy. But I know very little about TVs. Too many home insurance policies aren’t great in the first place.
Second, for all the bravado with which this concept is approached, “self insurance” of an asset like a wine collection could readily be questionable even for 0.1% net worth folks in the US.
In general the scheduling adds more perils(like dropping it). If you are just worried about fire or theft, no reason to schedule . Please explain why you think you need a line item for theft or fire?
Fine arts and jewelry scheduling is needed because there are small sub limits on that item.
I did, found nothing relevant. Please link.
In any case, unless there is conflicting policy language, my email from the agent saying I’m covered without any special sublimit for wine is dispositive (for me), as the agents representation of coverage is binding.
In any case, no-one is self insuring their wine for theft and fire unless they are also self insuring for all their contents. Please share policy language if you believe otherwise.
The first link from 2022 has the most wrt State Farm and confusion over coverages. The others have less but each has at least one reference either to how insured, coverage, or supplying inventory. Some surely don’t apply to your situation. More threads include State Farm but those are pre 2020 so unsure how applicable given the age.
This is what keeps me from bothering with it.
What follows is based on my personal experience and I’m not in the insurance business. By “line item” I mean that my wine collection insurance is included in a blanket collectibles rider added to my homeowner’s plan. This covers for replacement value based on the value I reasonably claim for all collectibles. My understanding is that “scheduling” is for insuring particular very high value items (bottles) and that’s not where I’m at.
General homeowner’s policy inclusion limits replacement at too low a value to be interesting to me. You say you have State Farm. Typically, their limits are pretty low, based on my experience using SF over a decade ago for a different property, but yours might be different.
Standard Coverage is replacement value, don’t understand why that’s too low. (You have to replace it to get that, and show a receipt otherwise it’s Actual Cash Value). If you want replacement value without replacing it, then schedule.
Scheduling doesn’t pay out at scheduled amount if replacement cost is lower (at least with Allstate jewelry schedule, based on experience)
Haven’t had a claim with them, but have dealt with Allstate, and replacement value (on clothing damaged by smoke) was full replacement (on some designer items).
Thanks for the links. Didn’t say anything that makes me change my opinion.
I was in insurance (not in claims) and know how to read a policy.
Some misstatements:
Wine falls under collectibles - I haven’t seen any policy language my policies (CSAA, Allstate, State Farm) to support that interpretation unless you are talking about perils only covered under scheduling and not basic HO (such as breakage),
Wine is only covered if it’s stored at home- not true in my policies, although might be a sub limit for things stored offsite (not specific to wine.
True that it’s confusing.
It’s too low because they will only replace up to a dollar limit. That limit is too low.
Responding because your comment might refer to my post about collectible insurance. Wine can fall under collectibles. Here is an example: https://www.pureinsurance.com/coverage-solutions/jewelry-art-collections.
I have one through Chubb. I want to say I pay 0.45%. If you have your wine on CT, an export of your list is all you need.
Yes, you can buy a collectibles policy for wine. However, no exclusion or sublimit for a broad term of “collectibles“ in any of the policies I’ve seen;only for specified collectibles such as fine arts , art glass, jewelry, silverware, etc.
Limits in replacement value must be specified in the policy, please provide an excerpt from your policy language.
If it’s experience being lowballed, that’s more about the adjuster and the company. And it can happen in a scheduled endorsement as well. In my experience (with designer clothing, but not with wine), they use the receipt for reimbursement.
The one are where I might foresee an argument is over vintage- expecially if not replaceable.
The replacement coverage is for “like kind and quality”,perhaps clearer in the case of a coin collection than a trophy wine, but not so much as I wouldn’t be shy of fighting it (small claims court if less than $5k in California).
For burgundy, current vintage is plenty high that I’m not worried. Maybe my 78 Giacosa Asilli Barbaresco red label would be a candidate for dispute, but not my Mugneret Gibourg given current replacement cost.
They actually insure based on CT listing?
What prevents fraud?
Has anyone ever made a claim and got paid?
Yes.
What prevents any insurance fraud?
Yes.
Ok. Have you personally made a claim and got paid? What evidence did they accept for the loss?
What kind of fraud are you thinking about?
If you pay to insure things you don’t really own, that’s money out of your pocket, not theirs.
If you claim a loss of things that weren’t really lost, then the insurance investigators will find you and ruin you. This has been the plot of many hard-boiled detective novels and noir movies. It’s not a new idea!
The fraud I had in mind was claims for power outs and cooked wine. How do you actually quantify that?
If you were to put in an insurance claim over a cooked cellar and the insurance company had any doubts about the claim, they’d send a truck over, inventory every bottle, and assess the condition.
I’d love to see them do that. Open every bottle and assess a damage? Lol.
Come on. You know that’s not what they would do.