Reference Archive

Insurance Industry--Replacement

Insurance Industry--Replacement

(from Dorothy Dous "Hummel" Collector's Club, http://www.hummels.com) Insurance companies have recently become much more sophisticated in handling M. I. Hummel and Goebel loss claims. Not too long ago insurance companies simply paid losses at the insured amount. Today insurance companies are more than willing to insure a collection at an elevated value, however the manner in which they settle "loss claims" has changed drastically. The change being that insurance companies are now obtaining replacement items on the secondary market at a cost less than the insured value. If your insurance company will try its best to replace your lost or stolen items very quickly, and will only pay cast for the items that they are not able to acquire.

When you insure a collection always make sure that the appraiser has researched the market place and is absolutely sure that your collection could reasonably and quickly be replaced at the insured value. We have also recently become aware that some insurance companies are now hiring "Replacement Companies" to replace lost items also at a cost less than the insured value. Our involvement with replacement companies and insurance companies in providing replacement has tripled over the past year. We do not think that crime is on the increase, but merely that the method of settling claims has changed.

Please make sure that your insurance records include trademark data. It would be a shame to insure a collection, not taking trademark value into consideration and then having your loss value compromised by having to accept replacement on the basis of current, less expensive, trademarked items.

I would suggest that you consider adding the cost of your state sales tax and a modest shipping/insurance charge ($4.00 per item) to the values which you insure.

We have also begun to see another twist in the Replacement Market and that is that collectors are also contacting us to obtain our cost(s) of replacement and then proposing those costs to their insurance companies for a quick settlement.

Please let us know how we may help, by calling Jonathan toll free at 1.888.848.6635.