Insuring your sewing machines-discussion w/my insurance agent
 

I was part of a discussion about insuring sewing machines on this thread by Murphy224
https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...d-t304808.html
and it really got me thinking about whether my machines were properly insured or not. So, I marched on down the street (okay, I leisurely got in my car and drove over) and talked to my agent, Brittany at Nationwide Insurance. We talked for about an hour, and here’s what I found out:

1. Homeowners policies are normally calculated as a percentage of your actual physical home value. I did not know that!

2. As long as you do not run a quilting business from your home, your machines are covered by your homeowners policy. However, the machines are only covered up to the limits of your policy. This is an important point to remember! If you have full-replacement coverage, it will be covered at 100% of the cost to replace it Today. Otherwise, it will be covered up to the limits of the policy (normally 70-90%), less the deductible. So, if you have 70% coverage and an $8,000 sewing machine, do you have an extra $2400 to be able to replace that machine? And That amount only covers the original purchase price you paid 6 years ago. Not what it would cost to replace today. The amount would be so much more if you also have a longarm!

3. There are no policy riders available for sewing machines. You are totally dependent on the homeowners insurance. After we talked, Brittany spent a lot of time on the phone with other brokers to see if there were any riders available. Nope, none. She was so curious she even searched the internet for people who talked about insuring their machines, and nobody had a rider.

4. It is highly suggested to send pictures of expensive machines to your insurance agent to attach to your policy as proof of ownership, along with any receipts and order forms - especially important if you ordered additional items with your machines. This guarantees payment for every single thing you originally bought.

5. If your sewing room is in the basement or other lower level room, it is important to get water damage coverage in the event the water heater blows, the sump pump backs up or the tub or toilet over your sewing room ruptures and your machines are ruined. If the damage is due to water, it will not be covered unless you have water damage coverage.

I hope this helps others! If you have anything to add from personal experience, please do. After we talked I immediately sent her pics and receipts for my machines. It has me thinking of how much $$ I really have invested in my sewing room!

Great information!! Thanks for sharing it. My agent said to take pictures of the contents of the entire house and store them in the bank box in case of fire. I will check with him on Monday about my machines. I do carry a rider on my insurance policy to cover someone else's things that have been brought to me to alter. It does not cover mistakes in workmanship but it does cover that actual item. I asked him about my stash once and he asked for an itemized inventory...then he said just take lots of pictures. I do have a quilt that I showed in 3 AQS shows that has been appraised. That appraisal is on the home owners insurance. He was shocked at the appraisal. He said he had no idea how much a quilt was worth. He said to take pictures of all my quilts too because the insurance company would allow $30 per 'blanket' for replacement.

For those that have machines that are up in the 10's of thousands especially remember to look at your total coverage for your personal property you may not have enough total coverage. When they calculate how much average $$ the average homeowner has for your size home they don't figure the average person has one item that costs as much as a car, so your machine may be "covered" but if all your belongings including the machine total to $100,000 but you only have a $60,000 policy coverage you are under insured and will not be able to replace your belongings in event of a loss. They don't have riders to cover specifically for expensive sewing machines, but they do have riders that can increase the coverage to your personal property, or other high $$$ belongings that if insured w/ a rider would add $$ to your personal property coverage.(think electronics, guns, jewelry etc)

Also if you have used your expensive machine to quilt for others and charged for it, even if you don't officially have a "business" it won't be covered under your homeowners policy, w/o commercial coverage. They will investigate if there is a loss.


(I am not now and haven't been for many many years, but used to be an insurance agent for allstate)

My own rental insurance is thru Nationwide so your conversation was very helpful to me, too. Thanks.

That was my worry, exactly Kassaundra! I was worried I was underinsured. My agent is getting back to me on what it would cost to increase our homeowners policy by the amount of the sewing machine and longarm since I can’t do a rider for them.

I did the same thing, Mary, with a quilt I made of my dad that I had appraised. My agent said good thing I did - it wouldn’t have been covered for the appraised amount, otherwise!

Thanks for sharing this. It’s something I need to look into as well.

For self-employed persons, would you need to carry two policies if you work at home?

My State Farm agent had me take pictures and put on thumb drives--one he keeps at his office and one in our safety deposit box.

Yes, if you have a quilting or sewing business that you run from home. Your machines will not be covered under your homeowners policy. As Kassaundra said, they will investigate if there is a loss.