Firearm Insurance: How Does Your Homeowner’s Policy Cover Guns?

November 14, 2011 by Gene Greiner

In Texas, many of us have extensive collections of firearms. Often, we see firearms that have been passed down through generations. These guns are expensive to buy and replace!
My uncle is one such person who has many inherited firearms. His collection is valued at $11,000. I asked him how he chose to insure his gun collection and he told me his insurance company had it covered under the personal property section of his policy.
What he didn’t know was the personal property coverage is subject to the home’s deductible, which is $3,800 in his case. If he experienced a total loss to his firearm collection, the insurance company would only be responsible for $7,200.
Some insurance companies have optional endorsements you can add to the policy for firearm insurance. For the most part, these endorsements will lower the deductible, but they will only cover the gun collection up to a certain point.
In my Uncle’s case, if he had added the gun endorsement, it would have only covered the collection up to $6,000. In the event of a total loss, he would have been out $5,000.
There are some insurance carriers that allow you to schedule firearms. This means that you can cover the guns for the needed amount at no deductible. If my uncle were able to schedule his collection, it would have been covered for the full $11,000. In the event of a loss, he would have had no deductible.