Hi guys, not sure where to post this but I wanted to see if anyone has gone through this before. I've been a member here for years, havnt been on much for the last couple but try and browse the general forum as much as I can.
Anyways, my house was burglarized while i was at work a couple weeks ago and besides clearing my house out they stole almost my entire collection. Over 50 pairs and 6 oakley watches. It was a very devastating thing to come home to. My home owners insurance is in the process of putting a value to my oakleys now, here are my options for the readily available stuff; they basically said I can pick out 50 pairs of similar value that are currently in production or take a depreciated value in cash. Does anyone have any advice on how Im not completly screwed here? Im not really into the new styles, I browsed oakley.com and found only a handful of pairs I'd like but on my older stuff I feel like I'm not going to do very well. I dont see how they can depreciate glasses that are worth more now then when I purchased them just because I've had them a few years? ie the original romeos, mars, juliets, pennys, and signature pairs. I understand a 3 year old pair of fives or something being worth less than a new pair but not the xmetal stuff and limited pairs. So how can I value these other pairs is?
If anyone has any insurance knowledge for me or has been through a similar situation any advice would be appreciated.
Terribly sorry to hear about your loss. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on craigslist, kijiji, and eBay just in case the jerk who stole your collection is dumb enough to try and sell your items.
Wow, sorry to hear that. Definitely a collector's worst nightmare. I can't offer any advice about insurance or what to choose, but best of luck no matter what you end up with.
horrible story, definitely a nightmare. perhaps you can prove the true value of pieces by documenting various ebay auctions where similar glasses actually sold. i don't think i could actually pick 10 pairs currently in production that i would want. tough situation, very sorry to hear.
I don't have an personal experience, but I would highly recommend browsing the completed listings on ebay and prove the actual average selling price of many of your pairs. Showing how much x-metals are selling for at the moment will give them a better idea of the actual replacement value. They need to treat this like a collection, not some products that wear out over time and lose value.
Definitely a horror story - so sorry to hear of this happening!!
I can't say I have any insurance expertise, but I did happen to just have a conversation with my homeowners insurance on the topic of handling the Oakley collection. Based on that conversation, I walked away with the impression that insurance would cover the replacement costs of like (read: current) models. If I wanted full replacement value of exactly the same models, I would need to have it valued as a collection and get appraisals and appropriate riders/coverage on the insurance.
In your case, though, is your insurance requiring you to actually pick out and purchase 50 models? Or can you essentially take the cash value of those 50 models as determined by the insurance company (based on existing models and prices) ... then take that insurance check to do what you wish with?? I always imagined that the insurance would settle on the amount and issue you the funds to replace them. That way, you can accept the $7500 for the value of 50 current pairs, then go buy 2 0.3's with it.
I definitly have to have another conversation with USAA. I have asked them in the past and I have about 75K insurance on all of my HH goods. I kept asking them and made it clear that I have a valuable collection of "stuff" and I want the replacement cost of it. They just didn't seem to understand and they said I would be covered under my current policy. Most insurance companies have special coverage for art/firearms/jewelry. Not sure on how they would act if I went to them and wanted about 50K for some aluminum and plastic.
Good luck to you Paul, I am sorry. I think we all would like to know how you come out of this.
It really pisses me off to hear stories like this. You work hard for your stuff and some d!ckless piece of $h!t comes along and takes them. It's kinda like reading that someone was trying to hack the O-Review today. I have absolutely NO sympathy for turds like this!!!
rick i 2ed that, and paul im sorry this bullsh!t happned but maybe it will be a good thing in the end you never know what the future has in store i have a feeling some good will come out of this keep the faith that it will , be strong you have our support
Very sorry to hear about your situation, Paul. A number of years ago my home was broken into as well; the thieves took a couple Xbox 360s and a pile of games... didn't touch anything Oakley (thankfully). After that I vowed that that would never happen again: I installed an outdoor steel door with deadlock on my basement as well as a monitored home alarm system with motion detectors. No problems afterward.
As far as insurance goes, I also used to work in a call center for auto/home insurance. As aforementioned, the insurance companies typically will only pay a certain amount based on depreciation. If a policyholder wishes to insure something collectible ("replacement cost" vs "actual value") they must usually obtain an appraisal and have a special rider on the policy. Of course, this increases the premium but it also protects the collection.
One quote that I used with my insurance company when reporting the theft was that I made it very clear that I was considering switching insurance companies - contingent upon how the situation (theft and payout) was handled. They actually paid more than they were going to initially because I'm sure they didn't want to lose a customer - especially immediately after paying out a claim.
Hope everything works out for the best for you, Paul.
Thanks for the responses guys. I'm sure everything will work out in the end, I just hope the insurance co is fair.
@ oogie - the insurance company isnt requiring me to replace the 50 or so pairs with new ones but they have made that an option. Basically told me I could go to oakley.com and pick 50 similar priced pairs if I just wanted to have new glasses. I dont see that as a reasonable choice for me because most of the new designs arent really what Im into. The second option they have given me is to take a depreciated cash value based on how long I have had a particular pair and what they would be worth to replace, the way I understand they have some kind of formula to figure depreciation. On most of the pairs this sounds pretty fair but for some more rare, older, and harder to find stuff the value is substantially higher for me to replace now than what they were originaly worth. This is the part im worried about.
@terrorism - Before this I had never really considered something like this happening to my house, but since I am feeeling alot like you in that Im not wiling to go through it again. I had a security camera system installed and im shopping alarm monitoring companies now. My insurance company hasnt mentioned any numbers as of yet but I will keep in mind threatening taking my business somewhere else if it gets out of hand.
Paul, just make sure that your security camera is "water marked", or it will be completely inadmissable as evidence if someone is recorded and it is used in court.
Keep us posted and let us know how everything turns out.
This is my worst nightmare. I talked to my insurance company they said they would cover replacement value but I think it would be a hard fought road to prove value on some items. I mean convince some one that an ott is worth around $500. They are going to think your insane.
Perhaps print off eBay final value auctions. Of course some items don't show up that often, so it may be worth scoping out the crazy bidder thread from time to time.
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