N Gauge model loss prevention

[Newportnobby]

I note that Magnet Insurance are advertising in this months issue of Railway Modeller

[MJKERR]

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[jonclox]

Also it is good practice to photograph your whole  N Scale collection, then upload to Photobucket or similar, at least then, if the worst happens, you can prove to insurance companies you had the items you are claiming on.

Railway model crime is unfortunately big business now, just look after your investments.

I would hesitate at uploading to photobucket for purely security reasons. With the modern hacker/thieves around all you are doing is advertising your collection on line and can easily be traced back to your address.
Could I suggest that it might be safer to date each photo and list it on CD/DVD which can be kept somewhere safely at home (or with relatives), and produced for the insuance Co. if required

[MJKERR]

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[OwL]

I wont advertise the agent on the forum for fear of promotion or being blamed of being in the trade, but if any member wants further details, please PM me and I will provide details of a reputable insurer.

Insurer for model railways as follows

So much for integrity on that one...
Has anyone had to actually claim and been stung from the provider?
I am not aware of anyone, never seen any bad reviews, so long as the insurer receives the Police Crime Number / Report

Checked with my policy again, just to make sure
Had a response this morning, that yes my entire collection would be covered, so long as it is within the buildng of the property, and this includes models, electrics, and structures (seems they have someone that actually knows something about them)
They also confirmed the policy includes my laptop (not specified item) no matter where it is stored or used, but it is not covered when within any vehicle covered by a separate insurance policy (as it would be covered under that)

I fear that this issue has been mis-understood by some members of the forum. As I said in all the posts my intention is to highlight the issue not scare monger......

As for my integrity, I published the name of AN insurer whom im covered by, due to the amount of PM's/requests I had. If you also care to look back on the threads, I also asked the forum if anyone minded if I published the name of the insurer Iam with as an example, to help people. No one logged any issue with this prior to me highlighting an insurer, so I would politely ask that you do not bring my integrity into question again........... This is meant to help people to make informed choices. I also re-call stating that if you dont want insurance by a particular insurer than go compare, thats what the net is for....

Regarding your personal cover, then jolly good for you. Not everyone may be as fortunate as you to have that level of cover. I also note that your particular cover concerns inside a building. My level of cover extends to transportation and exhibition cover.......... Please remember that not every members collections sit at home.

Finally, im not an insurer but awareness needs to be raised. That was my only intention of starting this thread.

FIN

[oreamnos]

Interesting discussion.  Here in the USA, a train collection would be covered under the personal property portion of a homeowners insurance policy, but only up to very low specified limits in the policy, generally $500 or $1000.  This is true for other small items of valuable personal property as well - cameras, jewelry, laptops, and the like.  Needless to say, without additional coverage a loss to my collection would leave me uncovered to the tune of perhaps $10,000 or more.  To avoid this, I've had to purchase an amendment to my homeowners policy for scheduled personal property which is not subject to the policy limitations (as the "unscheduled" personal property would be).  The amendment does not cost that much on an annual basis.

I've no idea how things work in the UK, but am happy see the topic was raised.  The amount of stock that one can collect over time can really be staggering.  I've never seen any of it as an investment per se, but there is emotional investment in my collection and I'd be gutted if it was lost and I could not replace at least a good portion of it.

Matt