Do you insure your layout?

[jacon12]

I decided to get some insurance for my trainroom, you all know how much time and money is in those places, but my good friend Elmo 'Bubba' Quackenbu***old me to try his dog Demon as a guard for a while as he's done very well keeping an eye on his chicken coop.
A lot cheaper too!

What'cha think?
Jarrell

[selector]

Well, IF I were to venture into your home for no good, you can be sure of one thing; I wouldn't get to the trains. The question is, would I die by dog bite or by laughing?

No, I don't have my layout insured, but it probably should be.

-Crandell

[jacon12]

Me either!
Jarrell

[jockellis]

G'day, Y'all,
What's that dog's name? Photoshop?
I got to thinking about the cost of a layout and my 24.01-footer is rapidly closing on $50 a square foot with no end in site. Does any company offer reasonable insurance?
Jock Ellis
Cumming, Ga US of A
Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers

[Anonymous]

That pup looks like Sam, the ugliest dog in the world.
Sad to say he was put down this week; heart failure.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, I live in a Condo and have whats called Contents Insurance. I pay about $200 a year for it. The layout, by the way has taken over the second bedroom.

God forbid, if I ever loss the place to a fire or a Huricane or some other disaster, you can bet I would be screeming for compensation for the layout from the Insurance co.
How much I would get is anybodys guess.

DON

[Anonymous]

Insurance? What insurance does is insure that the agent can send his kids to the best colledges. Insure that he can drive a car that I can't begin to afford. Every claim I've ever had I got screwed royal . I've got more than 10 grand tied up in trains, and I'll keep my money in my pocket, thank you very much. With premiums what they are now, if you make it ten years without a loss, and then if you lose it all, you still come out ahead.

[tommyr]

[#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto]
Tom

[selector]

Some guys have as much tucked away in drawers as the value of their houses. In that case, I would be inclined to pay $200 per year for peace of mind.

The layout can be built for a few hundred dollars, give or take, and many hours of time. The locomotives and rolling stock, especially if nicely "adjusted" and weathered, are worth a lot more.

[XMarine]

YES -YES!! I have a special rider on my home owners policy. My trains are insured for 3x present day values and the layout is covered for replacement costs. The rider is only $30 a year added to home owners. The insurance company said the replacement costs is just that, whatever it costs to rebuild like it was. They set value at approx. $200 per sqft. They only require an inventory of the trains and overall photo of layout annually. Since I have the inventory on computer - no big deal. They cover theft, fire, water damage and vandals. So far I've had no claims and they said that is why the cost is so low. I've been thinking about changing to the insurance offerred by NMRA, the paperwork from them seems to make it a better coverage. The cost for it is around $350 yearly. They will cover the same as my home owners plus damage due to the public during open houses and coverage for the public should anyone get hurt. My home owners doesn't cover those two things.

As for home owner's or renters insurance covering your trains without a rider - FAT CHANCE. You will be lucky to get a tenth of the value for the trains and nothing for the layout. Talk straight with your agent and you will see not much is covered (trains, etc.). What I found was the trains were considered collections and if you don't have a rider, they (insurance co) think you don't value them and will treat the trains the same way - no value.

[Anonymous]

And,,, insurance companies will do everything possible to weasal out of paying for a loss. Make a claim, and either the rates get jacked up even higher, or they cancel you.[:(!][:(!][:(!]