Renters Insurance and Firearm Coverage... Don't Use Lemonade

RedCardinalSeven · Sep 20, 2020

sobo said:
Especially for (anti-gunner) Costco...

Yep. "Costco policy prohibits firearms to be brought into the warehouse, except in the case of authorized law enforcement officers."

I'll probably go with Travelers Insurance or Safeco.

Goosebrown · Sep 20, 2020

I was an insurance adjuster for Farmers and at the time you were limited in regards to firearms. I can't remember what it was. $2500? Anyway you could call your agent and add a rider for like $20 a year. Some small amount that raised it quite a bit.
In short talk to your agent and add coverage if you need it.

Camelfilter · Sep 20, 2020

Yah. As others mention check with your current insurance provider, I was pleasantly surprised.

Contacted ours (AMICA), and got back the following for bumping up our coverage:

In Regards to our most recent conversation I have provided the quotes for Increasing personal property coverage.
30K
Prorated $16.00
Annual $19.00

50K
Prorated $51.00
Annual $61.00

70K
Prorated $88.00
Annual $104.00

100K
Prorated $145.00
Annual $174.00

Mind, that it obviously depends on the company, as well as what other products you may currently have with them. We carry renters, several autos as well as a moderate umbrella with them currently. So given the number of products we have with them, and no claims history, my price quote was likely skewed accordingly.

However, also took a look at collectinsure collectibles insurance thanks to this thread. There quote for $100K coverage was approaching $600 per year. Didn't check lower coverage.

Also notable is collectinsure SEEMS easier to provide coverage, encompassing all aspects of our lifestyle. Scopes, accessories, ammunition etc etc, as well as the firearms themselves.

Whereas any common carrier will more than likely require "better" documentation of covered items if a claim were to be made. Receipts, bills of sales & the like.

So I'll likely bump our coverage up a good bit with my common carrier, and go with a smaller policy thru collectinsure for all the incidentals which my common carrier may not cover without paper trail documentation.

Video everything & keep receipts, bills of sale (trade) etc. Dual/multi store copies of such. Video storage is enough to do these days.

CB0311 · Sep 20, 2020

Not much beats CollectInsure, they specifically cover ammo as well which is a huge deal when you have 10,000+ rounds.

Cheapdad · Sep 21, 2020

USAA didn't bat an eye--they did ask if I was in a "firearm related business. Changed to their home owner and auto insurance 1 month ago. Priced well, picked my deductable and total amount.
Cheapdad

Bushman · Sep 21, 2020

acdodge said:
I recently sold my house and moved to a rental house until this "inflated" housing market supposedly collapses. In the meantime, I need rental insurance but I have been looking at different companies policies regarding firearms and insurance limits. I ran across a very popular company named "Lemonade." Their rates are attractive but on further research, I found their stand on firearms and policy limits. Needless to say I will definitely be avoiding them and recommend anyone else in the 2A community to avoid them too.

Guns, and Why Lemonade Is Taking a Stand

'Guns’ is a polarizing topic, which is why most companies avoid it at all costs. But Lemonade was founded to make insurance into a social good, which requires being upfront about what we think ‘good’ is, and is not.

www.lemonade.com

That is their firearm policy and let alone they limit it to an "adequate $2500"... For a lot of us this doesn't even cover individual guns let alone a collection. They also say they exclude "assault rifles." Now I don't own a true "assault rifle" with select fire but I do have a few MSRs that they I'm sure would exclude from being insured.

Just wanted to put this out there for everybody and want to know what insurance companies you have found that are pro 2A?

Most companies have a rider you can buy for firearms and accessories. An alarm, cameras, inventory and pictures of items and other measures are your best bets though.

Bushman · Sep 21, 2020

CB0311 said:
Not much beats CollectInsure, they specifically cover ammo as well which is a huge deal when you have 10,000+ rounds.

Is it cost effective?

CB0311 · Sep 21, 2020

Bushman said:
Is it cost effective?

I guess so, I mean not many cover ammo at all. My total collection has an MRSP of $37k and I pay a little over $20-25 monthly I think.

Bushman · Sep 21, 2020

CB0311 said:
I guess so, I mean not many cover ammo at all. My total collection has an MRSP of $37k and I pay a little over $20-25 monthly I think.

Wow, that's very reasonable!! Thanks for the tip!

RedCardinalSeven · Sep 22, 2020

Cheapdad said:
USAA didn't bat an eye--they did ask if I was in a "firearm related business. Changed to their home owner and auto insurance 1 month ago. Priced well, picked my deductable and total amount.
Cheapdad

Strange. I've found USAA to be the most expensive for the lesser coverage when compared to American Family, State Farm, Travelers, etc. I suppose, it may depend on where you live.

Cheapdad · Sep 22, 2020

The package deal from USAA for home, firearms, and auto was good. I didn't check firearm only. Possibly, Ada County in Idaho is different pricing than King County in WA? (I grew up in Bellevue/Medina!) Cost of living is WAY different.....
Cheapdad

Helocat · Sep 22, 2020

L84Cabo said:
Most standard home owners policies limit firearm coverage to $2500-ish. And don't just take what your agent says to be factual...especially agents that rep a lot of different policies. READ the exclusions and limitations section of your policy yourself and see what it says.

Collect Insure and Eastern are two very good companies that provide individual firearms insurance and usually at far better rates than the riders/personal articles policies that the big home insurance companies offer.

I'm with Collect Insur and they beat AAA and State Farm by miles when I was shopping for this. But insurance rates and what they will and won't cover can vary widely in different parts of the country, so check your specific area.

Also be aware that some companies want serial numbers of your guns. Not sure how you feel about that but Collect Insure does not...at least for guns under $5K.

Lastly, make sure you do have the serial numbers recorded along with pictures of each firearm. You will need this if you should ever have to file a claim. Keep this info stored somewhere that is safe from fire and theft so you still have it if you ever need it.

Edit: Don't forget to take into account all the accessories...holsters, mags, optics, cases, tools, lights, lasers, bipods, AMMO, etc. It is amazing how quickly this stuff adds up. And it's also questionable how a regular home owners policy would view these things. Do they view them as "normal household items" or do they view them as part of firearms and therefore they would be restricted to the limitations of the policy? You certainly don't want to find out that it's the later after it's too late.

Collect Insure will cover these things...and ammo too...but you need to make sure they're included in the total value of your policy.

Collect Insure: guns, optics, safes, ammo, AND reloading equipment and supplies. I don't want my homeowner's company to have anything to do with my firearms, ammo or reloading equipment. These guys are considerably lower cost whole policy is "replacement cost" and they use gunbroker.com as their pricing guide for adjusting any losses. Done and done.

citizen a said:
Renters policies are a waste of money. Use insurance for things that would have a severe impact on your life, house burns down or you cause a car wreck that does serious damage. For things like guns, or your TV, or other consumer items just self insure. You'll come out ahead.

$14 per month?

For some, this may be true. For others, the loss of their $1500 Mt. Bike, or Macbook Pro might not be so easy to replace. Renters insurance is not that costly since you just covering your belongings, not the structure you live in. Quick look on line looks like average Oregon cost is $13.34 per month! If one does not have the cash in the bank to replace their main items, $14 per month is a no brainer.