Having (in the past) investigated HO rider, Collectibles, NRA and Historical Firearms, I have to disagree with you.
- HO was the most expensive and I was also warned by a company agent that they may cancel your HO if you have what they consider a nuisance (small) claim. They also tend to want an inventory.
- Collectibles was fine, but they expect you to NOT carry or bring any to the range more than "a few times/year" (their words when I asked). Much cheaper than HO rider.
- NRA was much better for a small collection, but more expensive per K than Historical Firearms.
- Historical covers in shipment, stolen off the bench at a club, stolen from your car, as well as the standard losses you might suffer. No list or BS unless a very high value item ($10K threshold for listing it reported above). If you have a moderate to expensive collection this is the best wrt cost.
Over the years I've had all of the above except HO rider.
- No insurance carrier can cancel you for a small “nuisance” claim, however that is defined. They all can and do nonrenew due to adverse claims history. Not all claims are weighted the same; a claim that is deemed preventable, repetitive or a maintenance issue will count against your more than say a lightning strike or major windstorm loss. Companies will look at claims history and they look at the number of incidents and severity and that’s where small huisance claims will bite you in the ass if you have more than a couple/few claims. Repetitive claims like more than one pipe freeze, ice dam or dog bite claim in a couple of years will probably get you nonrenewed because they figure you haven’t taken the proper preventive measures. Sometimes when the adjuster comes out for a claim and sees the property is a mess it might lead to a nonrenewal, have a few of those stories.
- There are no restrictions on the homeowners policy as to where you can bring your collectibles, whoever told you that was full of it. If I remember correctly you were either with Liberty or Amica a while back, they generally use call center staff who aren’t the most experienced and like with every subject/profession, there are myths and falsehoods that get propagated.
- The homeowner’s policy covers theft (to the limit of your coverage) wherever it’s stolen from.
That being said, if you have an expensive, extensive collection the specialty companies are the way to go. If you have a few grand in Glocks, 686’s, Smith E series 1911, a Ruger PC9, M&P15s, run of the mill stuff, the homeowners policy is fine. As previously stated, there is a limit for loss by theft of firearms so some scheduling might be needed. Insurance companies don’t put your scheduled belongings on a .gov database. If yiur house burns down and you lost $25k in run of the mill firearms, the homeowners policy will cover it.
Also, not to pick nits but there’s no such thing as a rider on a homeowners policy, it’s called an endorsement. A rider applies to Life, Health & Disability policies. It’s the insurance equivalent of calling a mag a clip.
Len, I trust your expertise in firearms and firearms laws. You have schooled me more than once and I deserved it. Clearly you have some antipathy towards insurance and I get that, a lot of people do, but what you’re putting out there re insurance is the equivalent of people coming on here and reciting what a cop friend or gun store employee told them about gun laws.
