Gun Insurance
 

We've seen a couple reports now of gun theft. I have all my guns insured on a separate policy through USAA.

I recently slipped and fell while ptarmigan hunting and destroyed my Ithaca NID .410 :cuss::crying::banghead:...USAA was incredible and have covered the entire cost of repair including the round trip shipping with no deductible.

They wanted to have it totaled and pay me for the gun rather than repair it so the only downside was convincing the adjuster that the gun was an antique and a collector's piece.

Thanks heavens for the insurance policy.

Anyone else have a similar policy?

Yes Sir. Have had one for many many years through Core-Vens out of Iowa. Underwritten by Travelers. Good folks to deal with.

I have coverage through the NRA Armscare. Never used it just make the annual premium.
KJ

I had bad luck with NRA Armscare about 20 years ago. Lost a stainless Taurus 431 out of a shoulder holster in the mountains. Paid $225 for it new. Made a claim on Armscare and they said they had a $250 deductible so I got zip. Not worth fighting over, so I just let it go.

Eastern Insurance, in Mass. low rates cover slip and falls, and also cover firearms while travelling outside the US, NRA insurance does not and a lot of other policies are the same so check before you need it. Also covers shipping which some policies don't too.

Me too. After having the forms laying on my desk for a year or two I finally took the plunge last year. Thankfully I haven't had occasion to use it but I have heard nothing but good things about the company.

Here’s the damage to my Ithaca.

Shawn, I felt bad when you told me what happened to your .410. I'm very glad it all worked out for you.

Ouch :crying:!

Bad Fall
 

Can you explain the fall? It must have been wicked.:eek:

I emailed Eastern Insurance. My NRA is due in December, I'll see what they say as well as USAA. Thanks for the tip.

I shot a bird and it went down in a huge boulder field where the dogs couldn’t go...I thought to myself for a minute that I would set the gun down and then go after the bird...but other birds flew into the rock field. I slipped on a rock and fell face first landing on the gun. :banghead::banghead:

I shot two birds with the left non-bent barrel before I hobbled down off the mountain.

I've fallen too but was lucky enough to save the gun by landing on my face!
Hey but you got birds in spite of it, good going.

I'm sorry, but I have always thought that I could self insure with great safes and safe neighborhoods. So far, I have succeeded. I ended my self insurance with a fireproof (yes, I know that is ridiculous) vault. Some of us who have some substantial collections should consider a vault rather than expensive insurance.

Bill,
I've had a safe since 1990. A few years ago a neighbor had his safe taken.
It would be nice if the insurance companies could take that into consideration.
Eastern has contacted me and it appears their price per $100.00 of coverage is much better that NRA's.

Having guns that no one wants to steal is another method

I gladly pay my Eastern Insurance premiums every year, no worries shooting and hunting my guns, no ugly expensive safe and the enjoyment of keeping my guns on display. I can't imagine having a great collection and locking it away in a safe. If I had to do that I wouldn't collect guns or decoys.

As Craig said, one of the main reasons that I have Eastern insurance is when I am hunting and at shoots, I don't have to worry because the guns are covered. No safe or vault can do that !

That and then there's the travel issue as well, plenty of exposure there. Actually I have never thought the premiums for these products were high at all.

A gun safe is great if you have kids or maybe if there is a fire, but they are kind of a joke as far as security. All of the weight in a gun safe is in the insulation material the rest is just sheet metal.

There was an avid hunter, a Chebeague Island, Maine Selectman -- birds, big game, Africa -- who with three other guys were on their way to hunt the Gaspe Peninsula, Province of Quebec. Outside their motel their truck was stolen. Everything was taken -- guns; clothing; new Ford pickup.

The show went on, due to helpful guides and other people providing guns and whatever else was needed.

I do not know if any of the guns were insured, but it is an object lesson in the travel exposure that Randy references, an exposure that can exceed the heartbreak and monetary loss of falling on (or with) one’s gun; or driving away with it on the roof, truck bed cover or tailgate.

The best part of having the safe is my wife don't know what guns I have.:whistle:

In a recent conversation with the late Jack Richardson he conveyed to me that almost all their firearm claims stemmed from hunting, shooting, and shipping accidents. Only in a rare instance was there a theft or fire claim. I started insuring with Eastern (and Jack) many years ago. 👍

That's what Jack told me too. I have a vault but when I'm at events or hunting or shipping guns I don't have to worry, so the price is worth it for my own piece of mind.

Eric..."Ditto" 👍😊

I am glad you guys posted this. I guess I always just worried about my gun at home so I bought a Browning safe. I never considered that a policy would protect against damage either shipping or accidentally damaging a gun. I am going to look into a policy.:bowdown:

Eastern contacted me and I'm going to leave my NRA expire after I secure a policy with them. NRA policy is up in another month.
Thanks for making me aware!

I had an accident with a Parker:crying: and must say that my coverage by Eastern covered my repair and the loss in collectable value. There were none of the hassles that I hear about from other insurance companies; Eastern has a very professional and fair process. The repair was covered, less my deductible, and the loss in value was determined as the average of three "independent" knowledgeable estimates; one of which I arranged. I can honestly say I am happy that I decided to insure my Parker and glad I used Eastern.

I would expect/hope that most carriers would respond in a similar fashion as Robin detailed for those types of claims. While we are on the subject of gun insurance let me make you aware of a couple of limitations that you most likely have in your policy that you may want to verify. The first being "transit". The attached verbiage is from a Travelers "Collectors" policy, not a "Dealers" policy. You will note under the highlighted area that items in transit are limited to a maximum of 25K and possibly less depending on your limits. This is not for each individual firearm, this is the total. Doesn't apply to you ? How many guns are you hauling to the Southern, values ? There may be a buyback on this limitation with carriers. The Travelers buyback max is 40K.
The second item of concern would be the exclusionary language pertaining to "property on exhibition at fair grounds, gun shows, or on the premises of any national or international exposure". How many of us have had guns for sale on a dealers table at a gun show ? I can assure you that "on exhibition at gun shows" will include being exhibited for sale. How about all the guns on display at Pheasant Fest. It's a "national exposition" so no coverage. There is no buyback with Travelers on this coverage so we can safely assume if you need this coverage their intent would be to offer you a "Dealers Policy". The industry likes to refer to this as "getting the premium for the exposure" but that's another paragraph I don't have time to address. Intent here is just to raise some awareness to some issues that you may not have addressed with your carrier/agent. BTW I am not picking on Travelers I just happened to have their policy forms available.

This was a question I asked Jack before his death, as I wanted to give my Boss shotgun to a smith at the Southern to take back with him but he didn't want to as he didn't have enough transit insurance. Jack said to me"Eric, you are covered period" He said it doesn't matter where the gun (or guns) is, it's covered period. So that's why I have Eastern insurance covering my guns.

That is the same message I got from Jack too. Hunting, shooting, shipping, shows, fire or theft. I called him about shipping a gun to someone interested in buying it and he said until he accepted the gun after the inspection it would be insured under my policy. So, I didn't need the insurance the shipper or US Mail sell. That was when I knew I had something good.

I've said this before and I'll say it again no I don't like writing the check but I sure do love the piece of mind I have when I'm at a shoot or hunting or even shipping a gun (which I rarely do ) and know that my guns are covered and I'm not going to have to fight to get a settlement like other insurers. For the couple of bucks a day that it costs me to insure my whole collection is a small price to pay.

I just renewed my Eastern policy. It sure gives me a nice overall piece of mind knowing I'm insured for most circumstances.

Keep in mind that there is one circumstance you aren't covered for and that's government confiscation. I ran into this with a VHE-20ga I bought on Gun Broker a couple of years ago from a dealer in Maine. Six months after I had the gun in hand the local police showed up at my door with a court order from Maine to take the gun because it was reported as stolen in Maine. It's a long story but the short version is; I lost the gun & the money I paid for it. My eastern policy wouldn't cover it due to the clause for government confiscation. It still hurts every time I think about it.

Well that's an odd one for sure Paul. If it makes you feel any better and it will not you would most likely have that same exclusion in any policy with any carrier, not just Eastern and there will not be a buy back provision on that one. Theft has been mentioned a couple of times here. Along that line Eastern does have an exclusion pertaining to "unattended vehicles" as do most carriers. Theft from an unlocked vehicle with no signs of forced entry, no coverage ! Keep those vehicles locked fellas.
I stated earlier that I was not picking on Travelers, same for Eastern. Both are good products and they all have their quirks. Just pointing a few things out.

I'm not picking on Eastern either, I'm very comfortable with their policy & think they offer some of the best coverage for collectors out there. I really like the coverage for shipping guns & while on hunting trips both domestic & internationally. You made a good point; always keep them locked up!!!!!

I just wanted to make the point that having insurance doesn't mean your covered for all possible situations. Be sure to know what your policy actually covers.

Interesting thread.
Anyone care to throw out the annual cost of the Eastern insurance per, say, $100,000 of coverage?

~$350

So, Randy, is a locked vehicle considered "attended?"

Yes if you have Eastern not sure about others

Garry generally speaking that would be correct for most carriers. I'm going to refrain from saying all carriers as there's always the odd ball.