Hey all, just wondering how you keep records of your firearms for insurance purposes? Do you just record serial number and pertinent data, or do pictures as well? Do you keep these records away from where the guns are to make sure nobody steals them at the same time?

I am meeting on Monday to get the long overdue insurance I should have for my contents at home. AAA doesn't have a limit on firearms, which is why I didn't get a policy with State Farm when I was with them. I am trying to put together a realistic replacement value on all my stuff right now. The pain in the ass is going to be going through my shop and estimating that stuff (tools and equipment).

Anything that gets overlooked usually in the guns that I should think of? I am considering scope values and the unbarreled action. Should I actually have them all appraised?

And have any of you encountered guns that didn't have serial numbers? I have a beautiful FN mauser in 270 Apex that I know wasn't stolen, but can't see a serial. I haven't pulled it out of the wood though, so maybe it is below woodline.

Red

DR-

I take a piece of paper, write the serial number in bold black marker, lay it beside the firearm, and take digital photos of both sides. There is no question that way. I then burn those pics on to two CD's, and store them separately from each other, and separate from the firearms.

I take additional pictures of anything "unusual", or anything that merits "special attention" (upgraded wood, custom features, etc).

As for getting appraisals, unless you have unique firearms, I wouldn't worry about it. If you have good clear pictures of both sides, the insurance adjuster will have all of the information he needs. After all, a Remington M700, or a Winchester/Ruger/Savage/etc in basically stock configuration, will have pretty much a set or established value.

Hope this helps....

I just got here and this thread caught my eye. When I talked to my insurance company about insuring my guns, they recommended buying a safe. They said with the savings in premiums, I could pay for it in just a few years. I don't remember what they quoted me, but it set me back on my heels.
John

While you are talking with your Ins. agent ask them if you can get a replacement cost rider for your firearms, in fact everything you own. Usually not too expensive and if you do have a loss,it will turn out to be a godsend.
With this type of rider all you have to prove is that you owned the item you are replacing. And the item you are purchasing is a reasonable replacement.

muck

Ditto ccCold Bore except I use a small dry-erase board.

I'd like to know how much effort law enforcement puts into returning confiscated stolen guns to their rightful owners. My uncle had 24 stolen 28 years ago and not one has been returned. Several were handguns that should have turned up by now.

The reason I was thinking about the appraisal was that unfortunately I only have a couple of factory guns, all the others are sporterized military. which as you know you can find for less than you can build. So I was thinking a more accurate value for actually replacing the gun as is. For instance, there is no way in hell I would take a M700 to replace my 1917 Remington in 35 whelen AI. Not only is the action not nearly equal, but stepping down from a 26" Douglas to a 24" remington. etc. and so on.

I did invest in the safe! A must. In fact, as soon as I can scrape together some more cash I am going to invest in another one. I only need room for a few more plus expansion. Of course half the guns in my safe right belong to other people. which is nice, because if I ever actually went out shooting I can choose from a bigger selection. ;-)

The quote I got was not too much, plus I get a 5% discount on the auto insurance for having two policies with them. Thanks for the advice guys. I will do the marker on paper with the guns in the pic idea, since I don't have a dry erase board.

Red

I have all my firearms and optics scheduled on my homeowners� policy. When they are scheduled they are insured against any type of loss except for wear and tear. The rate is $1 per hundred. $14,000 in arms cost me $140 a year. I'm getting a new safe for $3,500. Wow, in 25 years I will break even if I dump the insurance. No way will I dump the insurance even with a safe. A safe won't find my gun if I lean it against a tree and forget where I left it. It won't keep if safe if I lean it against a fender and run over it and a safe won't replace it if I drop it in the bay while duck hunting. They each have a place in my portfolio of diversified protection.

What a safe will do is keep my irreplaceable family heirlooms protected. No amount of money could ever replace my father's Daisy Red Rider that he carved his name on when he was eight years old and killed thousands of tweeties with or my grandfathers exposed hammer damascened side-by-side barreled 10 gauge that kept the family fed through the depression. No amount of money could ever bring those back.

In addition to taking pictures and saving then to a CD, as stated above, I also created a database that I periodically save it to CD. The database has the following fields:

-Item:
-Brand & model No.:
-Serial No.:
-Date of purchase:
-Store & address:
-Price:
-Remarks:

I use the same database to enter all items in the house, including hand tools, jewelry, etc.. Right after Christmas, birthdays, etc., I enter any new items (presents) in the database. I also save all the receipts, and if I get rid of any of the items, I enter it in the database. Once I burn the CD, I place it in a safe place away from home, but one can let the insurance company keep a duplicate. It seems like lots of work, but in reality most of the work is creating the database and entering all the items in your house for the first time. After that, all you have to do is to ad an item or two every now and then.

I have never bought any insurance for my guns because the first thing they have always asked for was the serial numbers and makes.Then they put them into a data base and I think the goverment would be able to bring up these records anytime they thought it needed them???? Maybe i am just being paranoid but i trust no officals when it comes to my guns.
JMHO
muskrat
live to shoot- shoot to live!