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Holy Priceless Collection of Etruscan Snoods

Snood dog

Snood dog (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pretty weird title right? It actually comes from the classic Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Burt Ward’s character, Robin was notorious for his exclamations categorizing different objects or dilemmas as righteous.

How does this relate to financial planning? We all have our snoods that we collect or have value to us. When we purchase renters or homeowners insurance, we often assume that our personal property is covered under the specified limits on the policy. Normally this is 50% of the home’s insured value.

But it pays to read the fine print. Most policies will only allow for coverage for certain items and only for specific limits. For example, a typical home insurance policy will cover jewelry only up to $1,000 total – for all of the jewelry you own. In order to have coverage for a specific item of jewelry such as a wedding ring, engagement ring, or necklace an endorsement is required.

Think of an endorsement as a “mini insurance policy” specifically for the item covered. For a wedding ring, it would be a policy within your existing homeowners or renters policy that covers only the ring, subject to its own deductible and often much more broad types of coverage. This means that in a normal home policy without an endorsement one could lose their ring, have the stone fall out, etc. This is known as mysterious disappearance and is generally not covered under the basic home policy.

With an endorsement, the ring could be lost, or a stone could fall out and the endorsement will likely cover that loss – subject to the endorsements deductible which is typically less that the home policy deductible.

The same is true for other items such as art, coins, trading cards, silverware, furs, antiques, firearms, and yes, priceless collections of Etruscan snoods. I have even had friends need a specific endorsement for the grand piano in their living room.

Most insurance carriers will require an independent appraisal to endorse high-ticket items like jewelry, antiques, coins, etc.

Check your policy and make sure your snoods are covered. If not, contact your insurance carrier and see what needs to be done to get them added. Your premiums will undoubtedly increase, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing your snoods are covered.

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4 Comments

  1. Anne says:

    oh…I see !! My Father’s Estate would not be taxed on the IRS . gov level; however; my Father’s Estate would be taxed; depeneding on various state laws; on the State Dept. of Revenues;

    I live in Connecticut; so I guess the good news is: (my Dad lived to be 88 yo.!) The amount of my Father’s estate taxed by state Gov. is a percentage over a certain amount…so not every penny would be taxed; only money over a certain “threshold”…
    Thanks a million !!! (Pun intneded !) thanx for the great news !@
    I will get more info on the Conn. Tax Extate !!! Thanks Sarskie!

  2. Anne says:

    ps i do not know if my other comment posted ; however; my Father “passed away” in the year 2011 (estate is over 1 mil); he has four children…How much will the Gov. get of my “Inheritance? How much should I expect to get to “see me through for my lifetime

    1. sraskie says:

      If your father died in 2011, the estate tax exemption was $5,000,000. It sounds like you should be ok.

      sr

  3. Anne says:

    ha ha interesting…speaking of snoods; what is IRS government up to when I read: “My Father’s Estate will be taxed at ?? % ! ! !
    How much does the IRS “tax” American Citizen’s Estate ? Thank you!!

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