Do you have extra insurance for your machines/tooling?

I haven’t looked into it yet, but as I sit here in Tucson sipping coffee, I worry about the security of my empty home in Northern California.
I’m sure most of us,have in excess of, $30,000 worth of tools and machinery in the shop.
I am curious what some of you have done insurance wise. If I had a theft or a total loss, I have replacement value up to a certain amount. If a few pieces were stolen, I would be out some money for sure.
I have taken pictures and videos of my tool inventory for a record.
What are your thoughts?
 
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So homeowners wouldn't cover unless you get extra insurance? I have valuable guitars, guns and of course... tools. I had no idea these wouldn't be covered. WTH is covered?! Hopefully my Picasso collection!
Seriously, I will have to look into...thanks for the info!

With my insurance company, if I had all my guns stolen (not listed separately on the policy) I would be reimbursed $2,000. I have a $1,000 deductible. The cost to list them would be over $1,000 per year.
That is my experience anyway.
 
I have a separate shop building. My insurance agent (whom I kinda trust) advised me to list a declared value on the contents of the shop (which is listed as "out building") but not to list or itemize the contents. She said that was about the best coverage I would get at reasonable cost.

Still, I have a feeling that if it is hit by a Kansas tornado (or otherwise totaled) a fair settlement will be hard fought - or worse.
 
As a mechanic my hand tools and such are covered through my employers insurance. About 50k in tools. For my house I have about the same in mechanics tools. Then a full wood shop,welders,machines and tooling to go along. I also have a rare car with low low mileage I keep in the garage.
If my garage went up I would probably max my homeowners insurance policy out. I have also taken pictures of every drawer and machine in my shop. The only reason why I haven’t bumped up coverag is they will just charge you more. The homeowners policy should cover unless you have way more tools than house is worth. And I’m SICK AND TIRED of givin money to insurance companies. I’m 40 and have multiple cars,motorcycles. Between cars,house,health,injury policies that I have NEVER made a claim. I’m sick of giving my money away. Yeah,yeah I know you might need one day “my mother is a State Farm agent”. At least give me some rebates or somethings for never making a claim in 30+ years.

You might want to reconsider your insurance situation. If your employer is like most they have a blanket policy for covering employees tools. The policy usually covers $XXX.XX amount for the entire shop. That means if tools are stolen each employee that sustains a loss shares equally in the insurance payout. Also the amount the employers carry is likely to cover only a small percentage of the total value of the employee tools in the shop at any one time. This type of insurance is usually used as a draw for new employees rather than for providing adequate coverage if the shop is broken into and tools are stolen.

Many years ago a shop I worked at was broken into. Several employees had tools stolen. At that time the company only had $50,000.00 coverage for employee tools. The thieves stole nearly $100,000.00 worth of tools from several employees. Each employee was eligible to claim up to $5,000.00 or the cost of replacement tools, whichever was less. I was the hardest hit and happened to lose over $20,000.00 in tools. Due to the size of the loss and the way the policy was written I could only regain 25% of my losses. In addition when making a claim I would have had to sign an agreement not to hold the company responsible or make any additional claims against the company. In the end I opted not to make a claim and forfeit my rights to future claims should this happen again. Needless to say the experience hastened my search for new employment, and made me be aware of what insurance coverage to ask for in the future.

As for your home insurance the value of the contents covered is usually calculated as a percentage of the cost of the structural damage. If your garage burns down and it costs $30,000.00 to rebuild the value of the contents will be valued as a percentage of that cost, not a percentage of the cost to replace the entire house and garage. Like most on the forum the cost to replace the tools and other contents of my shop far exceeds the coverage included for "contents" . I carry a rider to cover the additional cost. Also contrary to some thoughts the cost of the rider is minimal.
 
. . . Like most on the forum the cost to replace the tools and other contents of my shop far exceeds the coverage included for "contents" . I carry a rider to cover the additional cost. Also contrary to some thoughts the cost of the rider is minimal.
I think that is the same as what I do. I pay a little extra (very little) for more contents coverage than is the policy's default amount.
 
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When we purchase insurance, we discuss the "policy" with the agent. When we have a claim on the insurance, the insurance company will only talk about the "contract" that we signed. Read all the fine print carefully and make quite sure you really understand the legal details. Keep the word "policy" out of the discussion. Get your questions answered in writing if necessary, without words like "policy."
 
Forty years ago, I inquired into the cost of insuring my antiques. Sure, no problem, bring us a list, with valuation, and documentation of the value, and pay us 5% of the value per year. (Fine Arts Rider). Had I opted to insure my fine arts, I would have paid for them twice over in the last 40 years, and had no losses to claim.
 
Forty years ago, I inquired into the cost of insuring my antiques. Sure, no problem, bring us a list, with valuation, and documentation of the value, and pay us 5% of the value per year. (Fine Arts Rider). Had I opted to insure my fine arts, I would have paid for them twice over in the last 40 years, and had no losses to claim.

Yes, that is exactly my quandary, concern, reluctance.
Ok, I get it, I was hoping to find a new idea or a company that specializes in our situation.
 
Hi Pontiac,

Be sure to let us know if you do have to make a claim !

Salesmen can tell you anything to get a sale...

And, if you make a claim, depending on the value, they can and will decline to re-insure. At that point you can no longer get insurance in the regular market. You will be in the mid or high risk market with premiums 3 to 10 times your regular rates.
 
I ask God to protect all of my assets and I have no fear that he cannot and will not honor my request---the law forces me to have car insurance, and even though I have never had an insurance claim in my 74 years ----they keep raising my premiums.---fear is what drives a person to be worried about losses---Gods ability and assurance is bigger than fear.---I also have machines and tools and assets in another shop 40 miles away but have no fear
that they aren't protected----Dave
 
I live in a different country, with different morals, here no one has even house insurance, no alarms and security cameras, many of the household don't even lock their doors at night, but is a tight community any person or car from side is immediately noticeable and thieves get caught and get what they deserve so other don't evan try, best advice i can give is invest in neighborhood watch or in a WIFI alarm those are biggest deterrents for thieves.
 
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