How to Insure Your Craft Supplies

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By chameleon
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Insure your stash of craft supplies against loss!

Do you scrapbook? Make dolls? Create stamps? How much money have you spent on your craft supplies over time? What would it cost you to replace your craft supplies if they were damaged in a fire or household mishap? If you have a hefty collection of scrapbooking supplies, embroidery threads, beads or other crafting supplies, you really should protect yourself by insuring your craft supplies.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

homeowners insurance policy
renters insurance policy
camera
3-ring binder
manila envelopes
3-hole punch

Step 1

Check your homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy. In many cases, your existing homeowners insurance will cover most of your craft supplies, but there may be exceptions. If your crafting equipment is expensive, for instance, the value may exceed the single item value limit in your insurance policy.
Step 2

Ask your agent about an insurance rider to cover more expensive equipment or collections. If you have an expensive camera or video equipment, you've probably insured it. If you have a $2,000 sewing machine, you probably haven't. Call your insurance agent and find out what it will cost to insure your high-value crafting equipment against loss.
Step 3

Keep an ongoing inventory of your craft supplies in case you ever have to make a claim. Insurance investigators are trained to question everything--their job is to save money for the insurance company. Your job is to make sure that you're reimbursed for goods that are damaged or lost in a fire, flood or household mishap. A craft supplies inventory is the best way to prove the value of what you own. Setting up an inventory with take a little time, but it will be worth it if you ever have to file a claim with your insurance company.
Step 4

Take photos of individual craft items and equipment. Expensive pieces of craft equipment should each have their own photos. Take group photos of different types of craft supplies - collections of embroidery threads for cross-stitching, or specialty papers and stamps for scrapbooking.
Step 5

Attach each photo to the outside of a manila envelope. On the envelope, write the name of the item and its cost to replace. For buttons, beads and smaller craft supplies that you've grouped in photos, estimate the total value of the items in the photo.
Step 6

Put receipts and other proofs of value or purchase inside the envelope. If you don't have a receipt for a larger item, you can include things like advertisements showing the typical price of the item.
Step 7

Use the 3-hole punch to put holes in the side of the manila envelope so that you can insert it into the 3-ring binder.
Step 8

When you purchase new craft supplies, add the receipt to the appropriate envelope along with a sample and/or photo of the item. If it's too much trouble to do it when you make the purchase, then update your inventory once a week or once a month.