Cliff Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I got one of those stepfathers that is all paranoid looney tunes. It's good sometimes, other times a little much. Like when he told me when I was a teen that I mustn't leave a tape in the vcr because it can create a hotspot and burn the house down. Part of being a firefighter I guess. Anyway, he raised a good point.. I got a lot of tools now and they aren't cheap, I need to figure out what is insured, how to track it, what to do if something happens. Anyone do this? I thought of something simple like a folder of pics and an excel sheet with models, serial numbers, whatever other data. But honestly it would better if a website somewhere does it for me. I still have no idea if my insurance company would cover that stuff automatically. I need to go talk to them, and while I'm at it, find out the same on my expensive comics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Pictures of tools and scans of receipts on a memory stick kept somewhere off site. BTW, thanks for asking. I just dropped everything and went out and updated my pictures with some new items. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Check with your insurance agent or company. Most home owners or renters policies cover personal possessions up to a certain amount. But, just like with things like jewelry, your tools if worth a lot when added to your other possessions may exceed the limit on your policy. I think that you can itemize them and get the covered for sure. For additional premium of course. Definitely, take pics and keep a record, at least for the big buck tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 It doesn't have to be sophisticated. Take something with video capabilities (your cell phone works fine) and do a walk through describing the model of each machine and say the date you are recording this. Then upload it to an online cloud system like google drive which is free and you will already have access to if you have a gmail account. You can put the video in a few different places. If you have serial numbers etc great, you can write them down and show them in the video at the same time. Tada all done. Then give a call to your insurance provider. Around where I live there is commonly a limit of 10k per item up to a certain amount (variable on how much insurance you bought) this will cover all your tools unless you are buying giant industrial machines like a cnc router with a work area 10 feet across. But it is still nice to make sure and to find out how the process works if you ever do have a claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Having claimed for an auto accident that had tools in the trunk, I will tell you the burden is on you sometimes. They will try to keep costs low and you may need to justify the amount you are lobbying for. You may have gotten your tool off CL for a deal you will never find again. Your tools may not specifically be insured at full replacement value. These are good questions to dig carefully for. I say carefully because it may require more premium if they find some things out. My musical instruments are part time income for me so they are itemized in a rider just like jewelry in order to insure them at full replacement value. Every now and then I get questioned to see if they still hold the same value. Just a warning. If you start itemizing turbine sprayers and dust collection cyclones, they may decide they want to stick their nose in your home shop which may or may not be a deal killer for you. Just noodling on experiences. Not a true expert. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Something else to consider is that if you make any money in that shop, most home owners insurance won't cover it as it's being used for business.. You have to walk a fine line with them to get the answers you need but, you need to know what's covered and what isn't. For me, I increased my "personal property" amounts and never make a dime out of my shop. I'll also be the first to admit that my inventory hasn't been updated in a while! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I keep a spreadsheet in google docs that I've also keep on a flash drive at work. My google doc is extensive. I put every power tool, hand tool, any pretty much every tool that cost over $50. Included with it is any serial numbers, model number, price, and a picture of everything accompanies it in another folder. The majority of my receipts are available online through the retailers, and all my Festool receipts are available through the customer portal. I called my insurance company and asked them about my tools and they said my list is good to have with that information. I asked if I needed to get any special additions in my insurance because of the type of tool or higher value items. They stated "as long as your policy can cover the total amount of your personal items then you're fine" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlau Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 i can attest to what Mr Schaffer said i had a theft in 2007 of much of my small tools and some of the higher priced stuff, had them all boxed up for transport to another shop, got a few pieces back but that was it.. and when it came getting a value of the loss they did everything they could to lower the value. even the way i worded the pieces cost me. for instance arrows was just arrows not including the broad heads on them. as for the insurance agent part serial number date purchased and brand or model helps to figure value, full replacement or depreciation values.. and don't mention business use at all, just hobby, or if you have a good repore with your agent then ask what if i made a dollar on the cabinet last week..a loss hurts for a long time, especially if some of the tools were family hand me downs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 my home owners will cover pretty much everything, my shop is an out building and I have the alarm system for my house in my shop too, this reduced my rates, the system is wireless and I can access via my smart phone, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 12 hours ago, TIODS said: "Something else to consider is that if you make any money in that shop, most home owners insurance won't cover it as it's being used for business." This is key! If they can show you are using the tools in a business your home owners may not cover them. As stated, having an inventory and video just in case you have to document what was lost are always good ideas. Personally i spoke with my agent then sent a follow up email confirming no additional riders were required. I also upped my personal property amounts to cover what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I went through this at the start of the year. After talking with my property and casualty insurer, I video documented my entire shop, every draw of the tool box, wood inventory and so on. I keep a pretty high total value policy that umbrellas all possessions in the home. When I asked about replacement values, they said how I have it set up, i am covered up to X, how i spread that around is up to me. If I wanted to itemize, I could but it would just be for me, they don't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Awesome. Thanks for the input guys. I see I have some work to do. On those video documentation's do you just record a new video for a new tool? So you have one video that is an hour or two, then like 10 videos that are 30 seconds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 When you itemize, don't forget your pillowcase. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 2 minutes ago, Llama said: When you itemize, don't forget your pillowcase. That thing that I used once? Heh. It's wadded up under the bench. I wasn't kidding when I said it was likely I'd have a collector before I even went back out in the garage due to the cold! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 One other thing to consider among all of the other great advice: Here in Montana, you can go and register for an ID number. Then you can engrave, stamp, or mark all of your items with that ID number any way you choose. If you get robbed and your stuff shows up in the local pawn shops, then you get those items back without having to purchase them. Even if you have records of the purchase, including serial numbers, you cannot get your items back from the pawn shop for free unless you have them marked with your ID number. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 That's very interesting Todd, I'm going to look into that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 3 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: 4 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: That's very interesting Todd, I'm going to look into that Without registering your items, the only way to get it back from the pawn shops is to literally buy it from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxerjoe04 Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 2 hours ago, toddclippinger said: One other thing to consider among all of the other great advice: Here in Montana, you can go and register for an ID number. Then you can engrave, stamp, or mark all of your items with that ID number any way you choose. If you get robbed and your stuff shows up in the local pawn shops, then you get those items back without having to purchase them. Even if you have records of the purchase, including serial numbers, you cannot get your items back from the pawn shop for free unless you have them marked with your ID number. Believe the pawn shop would give me the items back for free for all the hell I'd raise if that were to happen to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 1 minute ago, Gixxerjoe04 said: Believe the pawn shop would give me the items back for free for all the hell I'd raise if that were to happen to me. I have no doubt you would not be the first angry person they would ever have dealt with;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I really like the ID badge thing. Even if you don't register it with the state if you hide it somewhere on the tool it would make it really easy to prove that the tool was stolen from you. This would help if you filed a police report of the stolen items they can be confiscated as evidence and you can then petition the judge to return them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 I'm making a spreadsheet of stuff I have purchased just from online accounts. Haven't started in on local buys. If anyone else does this, I recommend staying away from the SUM() function in excel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 1 minute ago, Cliff said: I'm making a spreadsheet of stuff I have purchased just from online accounts. Haven't started in on local buys. If anyone else does this, I recommend staying away from the SUM() function in excel. Yeah, that would make me sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 3 minutes ago, Cliff said: I'm making a spreadsheet of stuff I have purchased just from online accounts. Haven't started in on local buys. If anyone else does this, I recommend staying away from the SUM() function in excel. Amazon lets you download a spreadsheet (comma-delimited actually) of all your purchases within a time frame. I wish all other sellers had a similar feature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 15 minutes ago, Cliff said: I'm making a spreadsheet of stuff I have purchased just from online accounts. Haven't started in on local buys. If anyone else does this, I recommend staying away from the SUM() function in excel. I run spreadsheets on my credit car each year and total separate categories. The sum function becomes the double check and lets just say i spend a LOT of money every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Yeah I'm definitely over 10k since Feb of last year. And I have only logged purchases from amazon, Home Depot and Lee Valley so far. Plus the jointer and my table saw which came from different places. I wonder if I win a prize if it hits the amount I owe on my house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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