Home Insurance - Do you put your pins down as a 'Specialist Collection'! ?

[Lippy427]

Apologies for raising another home/pinball Insurance thread....

Insurance renewal time again and the missus is doing the usual price compare due to the usual premium increase from the current provider.

One of the 'Which?' recommended insurers refused to insure us as they class the pinballs as a 'Specialist Collection' that they don't deal with (and he reckoned most insurers wouldn't!) and suggested that we contact BIBA for specialist advice !
I have 9 machines in the house (not in a garage or out building), so wouldn't have thought it would be a problem and we've not heard this before, so don't know if it's something new?
Anyone else had this?
Have phoned BIBA and waiting for someone to call back - will update if they ever do!

Cheers
Geoff

 

[Marvello]

I have to declare any item over a £1000 so that's how mine are insured.

 

[Epotech]

Yes I do,also my watches how confident am I they pay out? Not very.

 

[Marvello]

With my previous insurance company they came under house contents which was great, but they stopped providing insurance so had to find another provider.

 

[HomerRamone]

Yhink it seems to vary from one to another. I declared mine explicitly with one company but another said no need to.

 

[mplayfield]

I’m with a aviva and they provide unlimited value and they don’t care unless it’s a valuable and they don’t class them as a valuable .even when pressed and told they are worth x and I have 8 they said no problem

 

[Lippy427]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

We've tried a few online quotes this evening, but there's either no way to say 'pinball' or when you do mention them it's a "no thank you".
Definitely get the impression that most insurances (even when you call) don't know how to treat pins. (We've got an old baby grand piano, and one of the insurances is insisting on it being insured away from home - I mean, it's not like we're going to take it down to the pub on open mic night!)

What do folks do for value? Do you make a best guess of your collection/pins, or do you (in the case of 'new for old') point at the price of new machines on the likes of Pinball Heaven and Direct Leisure ?
Have done unlimited in the past assuming that all would be covered - but that is starting to get expensive.

Will give a few a call tomorrow and see if we can get someone sensible to talk to - and try and get something in writing.

Thanks
Geoff

 

[Lippy427]

just to close this off....

having spoken to someone at LV, they told us that whilst they want you to declare (and value) any and all items over £5k, they don't need to you to declare any item that they don't deem as 'high risk' - and they don't deem pinball's (or baby grand's) as high risk items.