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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 4:03 pm
Sorry to start new thread but thought some of the answers might be helpful for others too. I have to fill out a claim for contents of storage unit and they told me to put value.....not antique value, not replacement value...so not sure what they mean...I got the feeling that the agent didnt want to clue me too clearly so they could pay me less than they have to. Any insurance people out there that could give me some ideas? 2 of the big things are 2 bedsets from the 20/30's that had queen bed, 2 big dressers, and a vanity. I was thinking of pricing a new bedroom set but then he said not replacement value so I am totally stumped I appreciate any help!
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Pamplemousse
Member
09-28-2003
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 4:14 pm
not sure this will help but maybe www.claimspages.com i work in insurance but not on the property/homeowners side
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 4:22 pm
Try looking at similar items for sale on eBay(to get pricing ideas)? You'd be amazed what's listed there.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 5:33 pm
It's entirely possible that "value" in this case means "price of comparable items on the market today." This usually means they'll try to find a similar item for sale, in three places, and then average the sales price. But it's been years since I've worked in insurance. Your best bet, really, is to call the insurance company and ask for specific information. Also, did your policy cover replacement value or actual value? As those two values can be vastly different.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 5:45 pm
Thanks for the help Pample! I tried that site but it appears to be geared more toward adjusters Juju, yeah Ebay is good idea! Costa, its not replacement value, he just said value so maybe he meant actual value.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 7:02 pm
Thanks for thanking me for Babyruth's idea. It is an excellent one, and I should have suggested it earlier.

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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 7:40 pm
We had to claim on insurance last year, and we had to put down the cost of items we had bought recently, and they depreciated it according to some scheme of theirs. E.g. for a laptop bought in 2004 we put down $1600 and they depreciated it for two year and gave us maybe $1200 for it. For older items they wanted something more like the value to replace. E.g. a solid gold ring that was a family heirloom and priceless to us, was to them just a gold ring weighing so many grammes. And for something we received as a gift we put down the price to buy at the time, had we bought it. I think the claims guy is just trying to reduce your claim amount. If you look at your contract it should say whether you are entitled to replacement value (i.e. what it costs to buy it again now) or the original value or the depreciated value. I expect you are meant to claim your actual costs and they will depreciate according to some formula. If in doubt, and it's not clear from the form, I'd put in your cost to buy and note somewhere on the form that's what you've done. Don't depreciate it yourself unless the form says to, as they might do that all over again.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 7:55 pm
Ruthie,,,thanks so much!!! LOLL JUJU!!!! Thanks Kitt, I will try that. Now to remmember everything in the storage, something I really didnt want to do ..sigh
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 8:00 pm
Ruthie,,,thanks so much!!! LOLL JUJU!!!! Thanks Kitt, I will try that. Now to remmember everything in the storage, something I really didnt want to do ..sigh
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 8:07 pm
I agree with a few of the ideas so far. Your feeling that the agent didn't want to give you specific info might just be that he is not an adjuster... he isn't authorized to make claims decisions. If you have specific questions, ask the adjuster and not the agent. But on the other hand, the agent should get involved if you feel like you are having trouble with the adjuster or getting the run-around. I can't help much with your current situation beyond that , but I have two pointers that might help others... 1. Ask if "replacement cost" is included on your personal property. Any good agent should automatically include it when they can, but ask. 2. Inventory your property. Take your camera through your whole house and cover everything, including closets and storage. Actually, the things like storage are kind of important... people tend to focus on their high cost items like the entertainment center, expensive furniture, and big appliances... but if you have a total loss, then the "little" things you have accumulated over the years really add up. You don't want to have to sit and tally them all up from memory after your house has burned down. Here's a website where you can download a free home inventory tool. It gets very detailed, but details are very good when it comes to claims, and being able to communicate with your adjuster. http://knowyourstuff.org/ Even if you don't do the whole inventory on that site, at least take the camera through the house. Save it off-site or email/send it to your agent and ask them to keep it on file.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 8:21 pm
Personally I'd suggest putting down the highest value after having been through a house fire and a flood where we really didn't get a lot of money for stuff (in the case of a fire they gave us like $.50 per t-shirt for the irreplaceable concert/tour shirts my brothers and I had collected over the years). My girlfriend manages a storage place so I emailed her to ask her what she thought. When we rented space to keep an antique piano in we put down the highest amount it would be valued and took tons of pictures just in case. Nothing happened, but I believe it's standard CYA material for them to make you take out insurance on your things.
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, May 21, 2007 - 9:10 pm
Maybe my insurance point #3.. Irreplaceable is a term that insurance companies are not required to deal with. That is like asking them to place a dollar value on photos, kids' drawings, cheapo souvenirs from some trip somewhere, my grandma's purple glass bowl. To the person who has them, the items are sentimental and priceless.... things they would never give away, much less sell. But the thing is, most of those items would not be valuable to most other people. Insurance does not reimburse for sentimental value. There are a few categories of "collectibles" that you can insure with your regular home insurance company... jewelry, silver, china, art, a few... But for most, a t-shirt is just a t-shirt.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 4:15 am
Yes but where can you buy a new t-shirt for $.50? Even the plain old Hanes shirts are like $4 or $5 
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 5:48 am
Melfie, good info! This has also made me go over our home policy, just to make sure everything is good there. Grace, that sucks about the concert shirts, those things are irreplaceable and as I remember cost about 20 ea! I cant believe they only gave you .50!!!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 6:46 am
Not all insurance policies cover replacement value. Sometimes, you have to have a rider at an additional cost to cover replacement value. Versus "value" which is depreciated value of the item. I always insure for replacement value. If I lost $10K worth of computer equipment, I don't want them to pay me $5K (value less depreciation). I want the full $10K, the amount to replace the equipment.
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Melfie1222
Member
07-29-2002
| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 8:17 pm
What costa said. Your agent or company might call it replacement "value", or replacement "cost", just make sure that it will reimburse you to replace the items, without depreciation. I don't know what kind of insurance storage places sell, but I am willing to bet that it is not as comprehensive as the coverage that many people already have with their own home/renter's/condo policy. In fact, many policies include coverage for property in storage. But I imagine that the storage company will probably try to sell you theirs. Sort of like when you rent a car and the rental agency tries to convince you that you need to buy their coverage. This is when you want to call your agent, before you buy insurance from someone else. They can tell you what is covered under your policy (including items in a storage facility, or rental cars), and give you advice on what the rental/storage company might sell you that isn't covered under your policy, and you may want to buy.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 9:11 pm
the storage co has no insurance for my items...the insurance is on my grandmas home in MO and we added the personal property add the storage onto that policy years ago..thank goodness
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 10:43 am
Thanks again for all the info...I got the full amount of the policy for the personal property....which of course doesnt make a dent in what the stuff was acutally worth since most was antique..not to mention sentimental value....sigh I aksed in rn thread...wondered how much you can deposit into savings at one time without the bank reporting to irs?
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