Home And Family

How much do you love your collection of diecast model cars? How would you feel if your prized collection, which you’ve no doubt, spent years building up, were to be stolen or destroyed?

You don’t have to answer that. We all know that you would be devastated. But now ask yourself how much is it going to cost you to replace your collection and where the money is coming from to reacquire those rare Franklin Mint diecast Chevrolets and Mercedes’.

The astute amongst you will no doubt be aware that the insurance will pay – but will they?

Most household policies won’t cover you for the full value of your diecast model car collection. There is generally a limit on the amount of valuables that that you can lodge a claim for. And that is assuming that you can persuade the insurance company that your collection should be classified as ‘Valuables’.

OK. Stop reading here and go and get that box from under your bed. You know the one I mean, the one where all your important documents are stored.

Got it? Good.

Now read the schedule of insurance. This will tell you exactly what you have covered and for how much.

Ok, so you’ve just discovered that your diecast model car collection, which you think is worth ten grand is only insured for a measly few hundred. What should you do?

Well there are plenty of options. Speak with your insurer and check if you can attach a rider to your household insurance. This is an extension to your policy, which should cover the full cost of replacing your complete diecast model car collection.

You can also purchase a stand-alone policy. There are insurance companies offering specialist collectors insurance. Again, these will cover the full cost of replacing your diecast models, but will also automatically cover any new acquisitions for up to ninety days. Which should be ample time to let your insurer know to add them to your policy.

The next question you need an answer to is just how much to insure your diecast model cars for? And it is important that you know the value because you can bet that your insurance company won’t.

There are lots of ways to get the value of your diecast model cars, and collectors can spend many hours debating the best. But perhaps the simplest is to visit eBay and use the advanced search option. Enter details of the model you want to value, making sure that you tick the completed listings box. Hit search and your results will be a list of matching items and how much they sold for.

Armed with this information you can approach your preferred insurers and get yourself a handful of quotes.

But before you make you final decision who to insure with there are a few more things to consider.

Check that the policy offers ‘Replacement value’ cover. That is to say, the actual cost to replace your collection. If it doesn’t then you may end up with the retail value of your models less an amount for depreciation.

Look at the cost. If the price to cover your collection seems too high then it may be worth getting a quote just for the most valuable cars in your collection.

So remember, know the value of your collection, revisit it regularly, values of diecast model cars can change rapidly and make sure that your policy covers the full replacement value of all your diecast cars.

If you’re interested in learning more about diecast model cars then consider visiting http://www.franklindiecastcarcollector.co.uk