Do you insure your cigars?

[chr0nic]

Hello to all you fine people,

Just moved into my new home and I am about to sign up for some contents insurance.

I was curious to know what the deal was with cigars and insurance. I mean, they are very valuable- and I want to protect my 'investment'- but I could see the insurance companies being a little hesitant to insure against something that is designed to be destroyed (ala- fire or theft destroys cigars... "sir, are you sure you didn't SMOKE those PSD4's?"

I know there must be some kind of allowance for this- especially considering the amount of money that is in wine, a similar passion of consumables.

Thanks for any replies, guys!!

[brazoseagle]

Not unless you want to be charged with insurance fraud on the grounds of arson each time you smoke one!

[Jnaube]

That is a good question. Also what happens if my house is a total loss aft a fire. Can I claim?

[brazoseagle]

No, there is no way to substantiate enough evidence to prove what cigars were burned in a fire and what was smoked. Too much room for fraud. If you were a business owner, and your business was cigars, now that's different.

[chr0nic]

Hmmm... Interesting. So I assume it would be the same with expensive wine collections then? I would imagine that some collections could get VERY expensive- much moreso than cigars.

[cigcars]

Well - I'd sure like to But I don't see how just for them. It would have to be among other valuables damaged.

[Cohiba Stevie]

There are some contents insurance policies that will cover cigars, depending on their price (which must be proven) and the way they are stored, they can fall in the same category as 'luxury consumables'

It can be anything from wine, champagne, licquors, perfume and all sorts of things, you can even insure your cheese collection,truffles or assortment of animal pelts!

The golden rule of insurance: if its expensive, it can be insured.

[brazoseagle]

There are some contents insurance policies that will cover cigars, depending on their price (which must be proven) and the way they are stored, they can fall in the same category as 'luxury consumables'

It can be anything from wine, champagne, licquors, perfume and all sorts of things, you can even insure your cheese collection,truffles or assortment of animal pelts!

The golden rule of insurance: if its expensive, it can be insured.

This is true, but most of those items , if insured, are required to be stored in approved, certified storage facilities, like wine for example, and the facility itself actually carries the insurance.

[rfenst]

No, there is no way to substantiate enough evidence to prove what cigars were burned in a fire and what was smoked. Too much room for fraud. If you were a business owner, and your business was cigars, now that's different.

That is like saying there is no way to prove a diamond ring was lost vs. secretly sold for cash or kept hidden. Plenty of room for fraud there too. I just think one would have to find a specialty insurer. There are phenomenal cigar collections all over the world and I simply can't believe that insurance is not available due to risk of fraud

[El Presidente]

I know ken successfully claimed some $3k damage on cigars in his home humidor which suffered water damage. It wasn't easy but he pursued it and it was claimed under "Property Damage".

Ken does keep an itemized listing of all his cigars down to the stick so when it was time to claim he had a full record. The damaged sticks have to be shown to the insurance assessor and invoices shown or a professional valuation.

[LGC]

I could see insuring just the humidor, but not the contents. Also, do you have receipts for all your smokes... itemized? You would also probably need visual, documented proof of your current stock before any damage, if you don't have recoverable remains. . Is all of your stock legal in your country of residence?

[Sutton]

Check your local insurance provider. US, Canada, Australlia and every other country I between are going to have different rules and regulations.

[phoenix]

Not unless you want to be charged with insurance fraud on the grounds of arson each time you smoke one!

!LOL!

[phoenix]

I know ken successfully claimed some $3k damage on cigars in his home humidor which suffered water damage. It wasn't easy but he pursued it and it was claimed under "Property Damage".

Ken does keep an itemized listing of all his cigars down to the stick so when it was time to claim he had a full record. The damaged sticks have to be shown to the insurance assessor and invoices shown or a professional valuation.

Fell into bucket with video remote???

[Jnaube]

So, you say the solution would be to list everything and to keep the thing updated?

[chr0nic]

Thanks chaps, pretty much puts me at ease... the reality is that, from the concensus, it looks like it is not the normal thing to do.

I just didnt want to get the insurance only to read 2 weeks later that I should have done something different It happens to me all the time...

Thanks for all the advice!!

[brazoseagle]

Good luck getting any insurance company in the US to pay a claim for damaged. Lost or stolen Cuban Cigars.

[brazoseagle]

In order to get a diamond ring insured, a proper certified appraisal has to be presented and on file, along with diamond certification and pictures.

[CaptainQuintero]

I looked into it a while back, here at least it is possible but you have to go through a specialised insurance company and you have to pay for an expert to come and value your cigars and you have to follow certain loops such as are you storing them properly etc. A coolidor/winadoor etc didn't meet their standards they essentially had to be in a purpose built storage system like an Aristocrat.

Decided it wasn't worth it in the end.

[AverageJoe83]

Good luck getting any insurance company in the US to pay a claim for damaged. Lost or stolen Cuban Cigars.

^^ This.

[bolivr]

I have mine insured. They are itemised in the home contents policy as "Cigar Collection"

Has not seemed to add much to the premiums (certainly not as much as the Victorian stamp duty and bushfire levy )

I have found it best to go through a broker (Alliance in Port Melbourne) as they have the knowledge and can get the best deal. I think it is worth pursuing. Reading through the posts above though I think I should collect the receipts together because you can bet in the event of a claim they will be asking for them for sure. Good luck

[ned]

i wish i had enough to worry about this. so if anyone has any they need to get rid of let me know LOL

[CanuckSARTech]

No comment.

[rfenst]

In order to get a diamond ring insured, a proper certified appraisal has to be presented and on file, along with diamond certification and pictures.

Of course all of those things are required- and I would expect the same to get a cigar collection insured. But, none of them prevents a fraudulent claim of loss of the diamond...