Does anyone add a rider on there homeowners insurance policy for there model railroads or just let the content part of the policy take care of it. As we all know , the investment adds up quick in this wonderful hobby.
I have ‘contents replacement’ insurance - But there is the issue of exactly how many trains do you have. It is hard to explain that you have 600 fret cars, 40 passenger cars, and 120 engines! Check with your insurance agent. Most will cover items at full value if you have a printed listing of the models, with the date purchased and value. I send an attachment to my insurance agen every year, and include photos of any new purchases. The cost is quite reasonable.
Jim
I know the NMRA has club insurance.
There are prior threads on this subject - seem to happen about once a year or so.
As Jim said, the size of your collection is going to make a difference. Most homeowners policies I have seen have a limit on “collections” unless there is a specific listing with values in advance. Also, whether you have replacement cost or actual value insurance makes a difference. Replacement cost is easier to determine after the fact - but you still need that list of items you had before the loss.
But I think all that is putting the cart before the horse. What is your insurance philosophy? Do you see insurance as a way to protect yourself from catastrophic losses, or as a way to make up losses from bumps in the road of life?
The other key question is what are the most likely loss reasons? If you do not host open houses, and do not have a display case filled with a pristine brass collection, any theft is more likely to be targeting other things within the house, and not be focused on stealing model trains. Similarly, a fire or flood in your house is not likely to be limiting itself to your layout. There will plenty of damage to the rest of the house and its furnishings.
As you can see from the questions, I regard losses to my train stuff as at the nuisance level in comparison to the other losses my wife and I are likely to be dealing with at the time. But then I have less than a dozen engines, maybe 50 cars (many of the cars and engines are unbuilt kits), a few structure kits, and some scenery materials. I would say my tools have as much or more value. I prefer to bet on myself rather than against myself, and I favor the catastrophic insurance philosophy, so I typically carry higher deductibles than many.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
When I was moving a few years ago, I suddenly had visions of my all trains splatted all over Interstate 70 somewhere. I was a bit scared so I took advantage of the insurance company the NMRA has gotten set up. With this company there are several ways to insure your trains. As I recall the main types were by individual items, by layout, or a blanket policy. I have the blanket because it is not dependent on me having a complete and itemized list of every single thing. I figured that would take over a month of dedicated effort. Anyway the company was easy to work with and actually understood model railroads and collections. I can’t say it was cheap, but I found it much easier than when I tried to do this with my home owners insurance company. I got a discount for having an intruder alarm system. There was an additional discount for monitored fire/smoke alarms which I did not get. I have the collection insured at the minimum 85% of total value. Your situation will vary. I’ve got trains in 2 different physical addresses and even in different locations at those addresses. I could not think of any instance where I would have a 100% loss of the trains
I am also covered when I take equipment to shows both traveling and during display.