Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

A place to discuss the collecting and tying of classic flies, the tyers who made them famous, the tools, materials and techniques they used as well as the waters they were designed for. While classic is generally used to describe old things, classic is also used in the sense of first class or in the highest form. Therefore a fully dressed Salmon Fly, or a Carrie Stevens Streamer are just as much classics as a Chernobyl Ant would be. Enjoy the forum.

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Jcrouse
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Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

#1

Post by Jcrouse »

So I found out some information from my insurance guy in regards to the steps necessary to insure a collection. This pertains to pretty much any collection: flies, rods, baseball cards etc. I didn’t ask if this was a standard or if the requirements were specific to my insurer.

1) You need an itemized list of the items in your collection
2) You then need an itemized appraisal of each item in the collection by a recognized authority. In general, as long as the authority can provide some sort of verifiable pedigree, the insurance company will go with it.

An overall appraisal of the collection isn’t enough. It needs to be itemized.

Let me know what you think or if you find out different information.


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Brooks
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Re: Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

#2

Post by Brooks »

So how do they define a “recognized authority”?
I’ll be interest in how insurance companies verify ‘pedigree’ in the world of angling.

Jcrouse
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Re: Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

#3

Post by Jcrouse »

Like I said, maybe it’s an auction house, or an antiques dealer that specializes in sporting items or such. Like I said, I’m sure there’s some sort of standard that insurance companies use etc.


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woody osborne
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Re: Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

#4

Post by woody osborne »

my best friend was robbed of bass fishing gear. i helped itemize the tackle, down to individual baits, rods, reels, etc. he got an equitable settlement thru his homeowners policy.

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bearbutt
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Re: Insuring a fly (or rod) collection

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Post by bearbutt »

woody osborne wrote:
03/31/21 16:02
my best friend was robbed of bass fishing gear. i helped itemize the tackle, down to individual baits, rods, reels, etc. he got an equitable settlement thru his homeowners policy.
Well, yeah--but that's because it was most likely current production tackle, where values can be easily established, and where authenticity is not an issue. It's a lot more complicated with vintage tackle and flies.

As JC said, valuations would most likely have to come from established dealers in antique tackle. In the case of rods, there are a number of resources here: Lang's, Bob Selb, Spinoza (with Siemar's archive), Mike Clark, and Bob Summers all can do this to a standard the insurance companies would likely accept.

Flies are more complicated as no one specializes in flies in the same way. Lang's, with their auction archive, can probably establish valuations, but if you ask for this ask for retail valuations, as their auction estimates are by design much lower and do not take into account buyer's fees, which are part of any replacement cost. The Lang's archive, and Marty Keane catalogue archive, are probably the best American archives on prices realized for historical flies. I wouldn't include eBay unless the flies had vetted provenance.

Authenticity is trickier--my experience is that Lang's will sometimes authenticate items sold, but not always, and the authentication is not always....verifiable? For flies, it usually comes down to individuals who have extensive experience with individual tiers: Leslie Hilyard for Carrie Stevens and Herb Welch flies; Joe Fox for Dette flies; Judie Darbee-Smith for Darbee flies; John Shaner for historical flies during the UK-US transitional period (soft hackles; flymphs; Skues; Halford; Gordon; early Catskill ties). There are a couple of other very knowledgeable people who keep a low profile--but there is, as far as I know, no public "authority"--and places like the AMFF are not especially helpful either. So right now, options for authenticating flies and collections are limited. Save everything you can related to acquisition, and get where you can notarized statements from sellers, and so on. And as JC is doing, take a lot of good pictures. Finally, take good care of your collections--make sure they are bug-proofed (I use good quality flea collar pieces), and in the event you kick the bucket unexpectedly, the flies and the documentation are not far from each other.

Cheers,
bb

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