Every American Girl collector knows how precious American Girl products are. The dolls are incredibly expensive, and their furniture, clothing, and accessories are retired so fast that most of the things in our collections will eventually become discontinued. However, life happens, and our collections are vulnerable to fires, floods, and other disasters that could potentially damage a retired item beyond repair. Having insurance allows homes and cars to be replaced, but does it allow for the replacement of any American Girl products? The way homeowners insurance works for collectibles can be really complicated, but here I will endeavor to explain what insurance can and can't do for your American Girl collection.
The good news is that you're not at all crazy for wanting to insure your American Girl collection. There are many other collectors of different things that also want to insure their collections of antiques, hot wheels, books, or whatever else they might be passionate about.
Homeowner's insurance in general provides some compensation for personal property. However, this compensation is often limited, and if you have a lot of American Girl items, especially items that are retired and very high in value, you could add an "endorsement" or an "insurance floater" to your homeowner's insurance policy.
The reason this question is so difficult to answer specifically is that every policy is different, so ultimately the best answers will come directly from your insurance agent/company.
To get the most coverage, it is generally advised to know what you have and how much it's worth. Of course we are all aware of how many dolls we have. But do you know how many outfits you have? Accessories? Do you know the value of all your doll furniture? It can be a daunting task, but it is advisable to occasionally go through and make note of these things. Even if you have a large amount like 100+, counting them is certainly worth your time. Make note of what dolls are retired and which ones will be the hardest to replace.
From what I have seen surface in my years within the AG collecting community, American Girl is willing to replace items that are still available when approached by insurance agencies. For example, if you have a truly me doll that is still in production that gets destroyed in a fire, there is a good chance you will be able to get a new replacement. However, as American Girl retires so many items so fast, monetary compensation from the insurance agency is likely the best thing you can get if your items are retired.
Unfortunately for us collectors, that is many of our items. The best steps we can then take are to safeguard our collections and know how much things are worth (or, think of it as how much money would you want to be able to replace the item?). Don't keep your dolls in an area that might potentially harm them. For example, if they're in a box, keep that box off of the ground in a place where flooding isn't likely to affect it. We sometimes ask each other what doll you would save if you had to save only one in a fire, but that might be a question worth answering.
Your dolls are precious, and as much as we hate to think about what would happen if disaster struck, it happens all the time. So, take note of your collection. You don't have to do everything at once, but from time to time work on building up a document you can hand to an insurance agent in the event your collection is harmed. There's a good chance you won't be able to replace everything, but taking steps like these can ensure that you have some sort of compensation for anything lost in the event of a disaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment