Over the past few years vinyl record sales have been booming, with the vinyl industry set to enjoy its seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2017 despite the fact that not long ago having a vinyl collection was an extremely niche proposition. This explosive growth has borne a whole new generation of vinyl collectors, as well as making it much easier for older collectors to expand their selections.
As people’s collections grow the question of insurance naturally comes up, particularly as more valuable records are obtained or the collection becomes valuable enough that it would not be easily replaced.
Why you should insure your vinyl collection
There are a wide range of reasons for insuring your vinyl collection, including:
Records are fragile
No matter how careful you are with your vinyl collection, there is always a risk that items so fragile could be damaged. Shelving could break without warning, damaging vast swathes of your collection, children could get their hands on a particularly valuable piece when you’re out of the room, a beloved family pet could break some, or you could even just slip when handling a record.
Although some of your collection may be difficult, if not impossible to replace, or hold an emotional rather than financial significance, a good insurance policy will at least financially compensate you and make losing some of your collection easier.
You can’t control everything
Natural disasters are an unfortunate part of life in some parts of the world, with flooding being a particular danger in certain areas within the UK. These natural disasters can decimate a collection worth thousands of pounds in an instant and, although you can take steps to minimise the damage, you can never be fully in control of what happens if this occurs.
It’s an attractive target
The fact that the industry is booming is great news for vinyl collectors everywhere, with more artists putting their work out on vinyl and more places where you can purchase records every year making it easier than ever to build your perfect collection.
Unfortunately, this well-publicised popularity also leads to the attention of the criminal element of society being gained, with vinyl becoming an increasingly attractive target for people engaging in these activities. This makes it more important than ever that your vinyl collection is secure and insured.
Why should you get specialist collections insurance?
Of course, if you decide that insurance is required for your collection you will then need to make the decision on the type of insurance you have. For a lot of people, their first thought will be to include their collection on their home insurance policy as they aim to keep it as simple as possible. However, there are a number of disadvantages to including your vinyl collection on a general insurance policy:
Your collection may be undervalued
A common feature of a normal home insurance policy is something called a ‘single article limit’, which assumes that the value of a single piece can be no more than a specific amount set by the insurer, potentially leaving you out of pocket if you have any particularly valuable records.
For example, your home insurance policy may contain a single article limit of £1,500, meaning that if you have a particularly rare or valuable record worth £2,500 the most you would be able to claim for it would be £1,500, leaving you £1,000 out of pocket.
Alongside this, insurers may also set a maximum claims limit for all of your valuables, which could be as low as £5,000. This would not only include your vinyl collection but also computers, jewellery, musical instruments, and other collectibles, plus many more luxury items. Insuring your collection separately will ensure you will be able to claim for the full value of your collection as well as your other valuables, maximising the amount you will be compensated should the unthinkable occur.
Source: Hiscox
