Question:
This is something that has been bothering me for a while. I've just reinsured my flat for £10,000. I've got receipts for my tv and most of my stereo equiptment - all of which wouldn't be too difficult to replace. Though its my dvd collection that i'm really concerned about. I've got near on 500 discs (many of which have been aquired off the classifieds etc) and obviously haven't got reciepts for nowhere near all of them. How can i go about ensuring that i will get reimbursed for as many of them as possible in the event of them being stolen. I've logged them all on dvd profiler and was thinking of photographing my collection. Can anybody give me any advice? Has anybody had to claim for a stolen collection? The guy at the insurance company was typically evasive and surely this is something that other forum members must be concerned about.:(
Answer:

You can register all your dvds online at dvdprofiler. That catalogue where and when you bought them. It also gives an updatable list - so you know what you've got.
Other than that, take photo's and I think they come under house insurance - at least I'm hoping they do! :eek:
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Definitely take photos :)
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I've had home contents with two different companies in the last couple of years and was worried about the same thing. I was concerned that my "collection" might throw up some kind of problem in the small print if I had to make a claim
In both cases though, when I inquired, neither company seemed particularly concerned. They both said that I wouldn't need receipts to claim as CD's and DVD's are not apparently classed as "high-risk" items in the same way that say, jewellery or hi-fi equipment is.
I'd definately take photos (for peace of mind if nothing else) but don't really think you've got anything to worry about (so long as the 10k would allow you to replace them all!!)
:)
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to reiterate - the conversation i had with my insurance underwriter earlier on inferred that i'd need receipts for my collection - this obviously got me somewhat worried. Having being passed from pillar to post all afternoon (from estate agents to insurers to underwriters to claims company etc.) i've finally spoken to someone who knows what they are on about. Like you say jon cds and dvds aren't classed as 'high risk' items - therefore it would be unreasonable to expect individual receipts. It is a very good idea to send lists and photos out to all relevent parties and i will be doing so on my next day off. i suggest that anyone else with a reasonable size collection does so all so - thanks for the advice :wave:
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This is something I have been worried about more and more as my DVD collection grows. I use DVD profiler and take photo's but as for the receipts I didn't bother keeping them BUT I only really use 2-3 online sites like play, dv-depot, dvdpacific etc.. so if the worse was to happen I could show the credit card bill along with my shopping cart history from these sites to prove what DVD's and there value i've bought.
Just thought I'd add my little bit.
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With regards to photos.. Do you need to take individual photos of each disc or can you just take a decent shot of the spines?
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the way I did it, was just take photos of your shelf with all the dvds on.
I work in insurance, and the reason it is best to have photos is that some insurers will only give you an "average" if there is no proof you have "over 200 dvds" seriously, they'll just laugh at you, an "average" household will have no more than 20 dvds, so really it is best to take photos, and dvdprofiler them all.
Probably best to keep the photos on a web server too - just incase your computer goes missing. If someone is going to steal a huge collection of dvds then the computer would probably go too! (same with a fire)
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Cheers Jedirobbie...
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I'd heard someone made a claim using the info on DVD Profiler, but best to get photos to back that up. Would have thought the spines is all you need, but use a decent resolution camera (not a webcam), so it's easy to make out the titles so they can compare to the DVD Profiler list.
As for small print, do check carefully. I've had one in the past that basically said it would only replace up to a certain number of "media" items which included CD-ROMs, Videos, etc (this was pre-DVD days). I think it was really small like 50, or maybe less than that.
I must check my current one (Direct Line). I think I may need to increase the amount anyway for all the stuff I've got now.
It might be worth storing certain bits of information on a web site just in case your place burns down. I've been concerned about the issue of a fire as that destroys all my documentation and that would be a complete nightmare. Just an issue of securing that information.
Answer:

Originally posted by brunny78
This is something that has been bothering me for a while. I've just reinsured my flat for £10,000. I've got receipts for my tv and most of my stereo equiptment - all of which wouldn't be too difficult to replace. I've got near on 500 discs Surely £10k contents cover is waaay too small..?
All very well worrying about your DVDs, CDs and AV equipment, but what if the flat burns down and you need to replace <i>everything</i> - clothes, bed, cooker, washing machine, carpets etc..?
:confused:
Answer:

Originally posted by Bapapapa
Surely £10k contents cover is waaay too small..?
All very well worrying about your DVDs, CDs and AV equipment, but what if the flat burns down and you need to replace <i>everything</i> - clothes, bed, cooker, washing machine, carpets etc..?
:confused:
A little off topic here, but - presumably if the property is rented, then fixed furnishings like carpets would be covered by the landlords insurance (as will the cost of rebuilding the flat).
£10000 should be enough to cover everything in a flat, but if you have "speciality" items like AV equipment, an unusually large collection of CDs/DVDs etc etc, sports equipment, antiques and the like, it's usually a good idea to get these insured separately, though this can prove expensive. A friend of mine has a huge CD and record collection, some of which is worth a hell of a lot of money and he's got that insured outside of the home and contents scope because he would never be able to get back the value of what he's bought if anything happened, only how much he paid. What with certain limited DVD releases being very collectible (such as all of the Evil Dead special editions), taking out separate cover is a pretty good idea.
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A little off topic here, but - presumably if the property is rented, then fixed furnishings like carpets would be covered by the landlords insurance (as will the cost of rebuilding the flat).
Granted the likes of carpets, <i>may</i> be covered under the landlords buildings insurance if the place burns to the ground, but I doubt such items as 'white goods' would be.. even if the landlord owned them, the tenant would prolly have to ensure they were adequately insured, unless you don't mind paying out of your own pocket to replace them, that is....
Like I said £10k contents cover, especially when the guy has <i>at least</i> £5ks worth of DVDs (500x £10) alone is, IMO, waaaay too low..
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A good way to decide which is included in buildings, and which is classed as contents is this.
you get your house/flat - turn it upside down.
Everything that falls is contents, everything that stays put, is buildings.
HTH
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So my spank mags that are somehow 'glued' to the carpet are covered under buildings insurance..?
:confused:
:nuts:
Answer:

Originally posted by Bapapapa
So my spank mags that are somehow 'glued' to the carpet are covered under buildings insurance..?
:confused:
:nuts:
:gag:
That's way too much information mate:lol:
Answer:

Originally posted by Bapapapa
So my spank mags that are somehow 'glued' to the carpet are covered under buildings insurance..?
:confused:
:nuts: :notworthy :lol:
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:brickwall theres always one! :nono:
:norty:
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I wrote to the insurance company to get it in writing, that the info I had would be suffice in the event of a claim.
(Photos, receipts, listing - DVD Profiler), I have 1000.
They said it is more than adequate.
The problem of course, is that they will try & give you HMV vouchers :gag: to replace your beloved R1 DVD's.
Answer:

£10k is not enough. The replacement value of 500 DVD's from a high street retailer such as HMV would be around the £10k mark alone!
After (sadly) previous experience, it is essential you get it listed on your insurance that your DVD collection is covered at a certain value. DO NOT RELY on ANYTHING that they tell you on the phone as they are totally unaccountable to this - get it covered in writing.
Also print out a list of all the discs you currently have, and burn a CD containing photos (enough detail to easily identify them), and if you don't/haven't previously done this, take a copy of all your other important documents etc. and place them in deposit at your high street bank - IIRC this service costs £20ish every couple of years.
With the DVD's, don't be afraid to put a price to all of them if you wish and let the insurance company approve a current and "to-be-continually-updated" list.
Then no matter what happens you have always got a copy of everything important safe
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We recently upgraded our insurance and the company wanted a catalogued list (cd's and dvd's), which was no problem with CatTraxx and dvdprofiler, other than the time it would take to input them all.
In the meantime, they were perfectly happy with photos of the spines (reasonable resolution but you couldn't read all the titles).
Which reminds me, i must finish it off and send the lists to them :)
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having obsessed about this all weekend i've just got off the phone with my insurance company. I've upgraded my cover to £15,000 and instructed them to stipulate in writing that £8,000 of which will go to insure my dvd collecton. As said, i've already catalogued my collection using profiler and am about to start photographing the spines of my films, which i'll then post to my insurers.
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Is there any particular insurance company to go with when it comes to insuring dvds and how much would I be looking at costs wise :confused: :help:
Answer:

Originally posted by Shamrat18
Is there any particular insurance company to go with when it comes to insuring dvds and how much would I be looking at costs wise :confused: :help:
I pay £27/month which cover buildings insurance for £95,000 and contents for £80,000 (including the catalogued cd's/dvd's)
Don't under-insure, as if you make a claim higher than you were insured for, they will sometimes only give you half of what you were insured for !
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We were burgled and they half inched all my GF's CDs, some of my CDs, all my games, PlayStation, VCR and some other bits and bobs. This was before I got a DVD player. I'd taken photographs of it all but had no catalogue.
The loss adjuster accepted the photographs as proof of the games, CDs etc. He didn't want a complete list as he said it is a lot more trouble to try and replace actual titles - it takes the loss adjusters months and they may never be able to source rare items.

They gave us HMV vouchers, £11 for each CD, £30 for each game which came to over £2000. The reasoning is that the insurance want to 'replace' not give you cash because it discourages fraud, but they don't care if you buy the same titles you lost. They get the vouchers for way less than the cover value so they are reasonably generous about value.
Granted you won't get to replace your R1's in HMV but believe me spending £2000 in Oxford Street is a lot of fun - not that it makes up for being robbed but at least you can go on a spending spree and get tailed by store detectives. I actually bought my first 5 DVDs from HMV using the vouchers.
My advice make a list of expensive stuff (Criterions etc.) with receipts or print outs from online stores to indicate value. Regularly take several old fashioned photos of your collection and the shelf space it sits in (to prove you hadn't borrowed it for the photo shoot :)). The loss adjuster took the pictures I had for the file.
If you do get robbed make sure you have prints handy for the adjuster and don't bank on getting replacements for everything, it just won't happen.
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I stick most of my collection in the loft which has a not obviously locked hatch door - I reckon most burglars would not think to look there as they wouldn't want to mess around inside a house too long
Answer:

Originally posted by Inigo Montoya
I stick most of my collection in the loft which has a not obviously locked hatch door - I reckon most burglars would not think to look there as they wouldn't want to mess around inside a house too long
And where do you live?
:norty:
:lol: Kidding!:lol:
Answer:

Originally posted by Inigo Montoya
I stick most of my collection in the loft which has a not obviously locked hatch door - I reckon most burglars would not think to look there as they wouldn't want to mess around inside a house too long
I find it a pain going to the bedroom to pick a film, but having to go into the loft to get a film would drive me :nuts:
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It's worrying that the majority of my collection is Region 1 disks. Is there any insurance company that will insure region 1 disks and instead of paying out in HMV vouchers will give the money to buy back region1 disk :gag: :( :confused:
Answer:

Bear in mind that the HMV vouchers for my CDs equated to £11 a disc. I don't know what the 'replacement' value of a DVD is but it should be upwards of £15 based on HMV prices? That should give you some leeway to flog the vouchers for near their face value (classifeds, loot etc.) and then stock up on R1 via the web.
The vouchers we got were just ordinary gift vouchers not some "you've had your CDs nicked" special tokens - so perfectly saleable.
Maybe a specialist insurer or your regular contents insurer might be prepared to insure your collection as a single valued item - but you'd probably need to prove proof of purchase and some form of locked storage. If you're really worried call your insurance company and talk to them about it, I'm sure they'll be happy to take more of your money!
Answer:

Originally posted by Shamrat18
It's worrying that the majority of my collection is Region 1 disks. Is there any insurance company that will insure region 1 disks and instead of paying out in HMV vouchers will give the money to buy back region1 disk :gag: :( :confused:
this is just one specific insurer among thousands. if you specify that the majority of your collection (like mine) are region 1 discs, your insurance company will obviously have to go elsewhere to replace them - probably play as they are arguably the most recognised, reputable region 1 importer in the current marketplace.
Answer:

Originally posted by jedirobbie
A good way to decide which is included in buildings, and which is classed as contents is this.
you get your house/flat - turn it upside down.
Everything that falls is contents, everything that stays put, is buildings.
HTH
I'm not sure that it's that easy when it comes to Landlords policies though? iirc things like carpets and stuff may not be covered by LL pols because the landlord has little control over any potential claim (eg. damage)
But I may be talking utter balls! :nuts:
btw. you not working at UCI anymore?