This is where the rich and the high net worth put in their emotional motivations to - ‘treasure assets’. Treasure assets or collectibles such as fine art, jewelry, antiques, wine collection, classic cars, vintage coins, stamps or even locks of celebrities’ hair – ever heard about that?

While the lure of treasure has grown in popularity, unusual or unusual collectibles, as well as pretty much everything under the sun is encouraging more investors to increase the proportion of their wealth that is allocated to treasure.

According to a recent Barclays Wealth Insight report, currently wealthy individuals hold an average of 9.6% of their total net worth in treasure assets although, in some countries, this share is as high as 18%.

Consider this…
Rare JFK memorabilia auction, 50 years after his assassination led to the sale of JFK’s Air Force One bomber jacket, with an outstanding 1472% increase on its $40,000 high estimate, selling for $629,000.

A Marilyn Monroe authentic strand of hair, which talks of impeccable provenance, can be acquired for 50 pounds by those who like collecting hair – and consider it as an investment – one strand only, consider that.

A Charles Schulz signed Peanuts comic strip sells for $25,000 at Bonhams auction.
In the latest, a majestic and rare Ruhlmann piano that sailed aboard a legendary 1930’s ocean liner is expected to fetch $600,000 at the Sotheby’s 20th Century Design auction on March 6 in New York.

But whether a collection is worth $500 or $6 million, consumers are best served by purchasing a specialty-insurance product policy coupled with ​their standard house insurance policy according to experts.​

Again here coverage options differ depending on the range and value of a collection, which often is a reflection of the net worth of a collector.
Unlike house insurance coverage, stand-alone or group of collectible policies offer agreed-value or stated value coverage. This means, it insures collections for their full collector value, with/without depreciation  Policies on collectibles commonly insure against multiple perils, including, fire in the house, burglary, flood, hurricane, earthquake and accidental breakage.

Stated Vs Agreed Value Coverage
As a new owner of, let’s say ‘specialty cars’, regardless of the insurer, you must be prepared to negotiate from a position of knowledge the ‘stated value’ and ‘agreed value’ of your collectible item. Both carry distinct advantages and disadvantages–

Stated Value Policies
Stated value coverage pays, in this case the specialty car -- the cost of repair or the stated value of the car, whichever is less, at the time that a claim is filed. There can be a number of disconnects with this type of policy –

• The stated value is often known ‘what’s worth in cash today’ and actually allows the insurer to set an actual cash value of the settlement offer instead of paying the stated amount as the insured party was given to believe.

• The stated value is also used only to determine the premium level, as higher the stated value, the higher the premium.



Agreed Value Policies
Agreed value, in event of a disaster guarantees to pay a set amount of coverage agreed upon at the time the policy was issued. No if’s or but’s no matter what. This carries a number of advantages as –

• It ensures a secure and valid representation of the value while the appraisal of the ‘vehicle’ or any other collectible item.

•  Unlike standard homeowners’ policy, the value of does no depreciate over the life of the policy and the owners are guaranteed to be paid full in event of a loss.

Of course, the agreed value is a better choice as it appreciates the intrinsic value of the collectible from the start and specializes in writing unique insurance products catering to the specific need of the collectible owner.

Moreover, some specialty insurers also agree to pay upto 150 percent of the insured value of a treasured item or offer automatic inflation adjustment to valuations. These options would rarely ever be accessible via a standard house insurance policy.

Satisfying the Need of ‘Treasured assets’ Insurance Coverage