I'm sure this has probably come up before, but I thought I would as again for a number of reasons (changing times, my wife and I just bought a new-build home, etc).  How do you guys go about insuring your game rooms?  I was thinking about it after Phil's recent water problems at home (sorry, dude) and thought I'd ask.  I mean.. it's gotta be hard to insure $25 - $50k worth of commercial electrical equipment under regular home insurance, no?

It's covered under my 1,000,000 contents insurance.

Important thing is document the machines before the damage so you can get the proper value.  I asked if I needed a special waiver for my machines and they said no.  

Exactly what Adam said.  I called my insurance company (State Farm) and discussed it with them.  The office I deal with had never had a request quite like mine so they contacted head office.  They said all my games as long as I personally don't operate them outside my home will be covered under contents.  All I need is good documentation in case I ever needed to make a claim.  I'm compiling a CD of pics of all my games along with Mr. Pin and price book captures for general reference.

Just make sure you let your insurance company know about the game, and ensure your contents coverage is high enough to include your games in a total loss event.

D

As home insurance 'coverages' differ from one company to the next, it would be wise to ask your own carrier how they would cover these specific items in the event of a loss. I would not assume that because another carrier covers these, they are therefore covered by my company. There are over 100 insurance carriers in Ontario and each carrier will have their own policy with different coverages and limits. No two policies are exactly the same.

As for the commercial nature of pinball and video games, if they are in your home and you are not using them to make money, they should be treated as personal contents.
Again, always wise to ask your agent or broker BEFORE something happens as opposed to finding out the hard way that there is no coverage.
Just my 2 cents.

That's for sure, never assume, always make sure you check with your home insurance.  

I think mine used to cover up to $6000 per item....  But that was a few years back (I hope it is higher since then).

Take pics and keep a DVD with them on it in a secure area. I have 3 copies which I renew every time I purchase a game, or every 2 months. I keep a copy at home, a copy in my shed and a copy at work.

Quoted from Menace

Exactly what Adam said.  I called my insurance company (State Farm) and discussed it with them.  The office I deal with had never had a request quite like mine so they contacted head office.  They said all my games as long as I personally don't operate them outside my home will be covered under contents.  All I need is good documentation in case I ever needed to make a claim.  I'm compiling a CD of pics of all my games along with Mr. Pin and price book captures for general reference.

Just make sure you let your insurance company know about the game, and ensure your contents coverage is high enough to include your games in a total loss event.

D

As a Insurance Underwriter, that’s the best advise that I would personally give.
90% of the time, your game will be covered under the contents, probably at a full replacement value.

One other thing (After looking at Phil’s pictures) ; when talking insurance, water is always a pain in the butt. Check with your insurer what is cover and what is not cover. And go for a “All Perils” coverage for your house and some sort of “sewer back-up protection” if you have a game room in the basement.

Just an advice to everyone, your basement IS NOT covered for flood unless you pay for the proper clause. (you would be surprised how you can be flooded in different ways that are not covered)

Make sure that you add ALL the possible water infiltration sources causes to your insurance contract. On top of that, you have to pay for a certain amount of coverage.

Example: i was covered for 60K for my flood last year because i'm extreme and hate water. I had water infiltrations from my roof before and figured i would go extreme in the basement. Lucky me, it costed that much to repair and pay for my losses and still i didnt recover all my money.

My neightbour was only covered for 10K because it's what he thought was ok... it costed him a lot of money to repair. I received emergency teams, people to box my stuff, free storage etc.. while he got fuckall and had to do it all by himself (they wrote him a 10K check and that was it).

Take the time to READ your contract and make sure there is enough coverage if it ever happens (dont forget water from the roof in case of ice etc etc..). IT DOES happen, its not only happening to others.. And yes, pinball machines are part of your goods but make sure your coverage is high enough to cover them in that case.

Good luck. Been there..

Quoted from Dr.Who

90% of the time, your game will be covered under the contents, probably at a full replacement value.

Watchout, they will pay to have it fixed if its only broken or can be fixed.. they wont literally pay replacement for stuff that isnt completely junked.

Take it from my experience, they will clean and fix what they can and will pay for the losses. You can opt to "cash-out" instead of replacing your goods too, in that case they will pay value minus depreciation of somewhere around 30-40%...

Quoted from Azatotht

You can opt to "cash-out" instead of replacing your goods too, in that case they will pay value minus depreciation of somewhere around 30-40%...

Not if you have your policy setup to pay full replacement value.

D