My apartment was recently flooded and the principal damage consisted of books, including a collection of first editions by a generally forgotten poet. I will soon be making an insurance claim on these books and I have a few questions. A lot of the rare books were bought over 20 years ago. I know that I’ll never be able to replace them for what I paid back then, if I can replace them at all. So…what is the generally accepted practice, to claim the original purchase price or the replacement price?
ps…the whole thing is under $500, so it isn’t like it’s worth involving lawyers and that sort of thing.
(Assuming you’re in the US) You may have a couple of hurdles here. Most homeowners/renters policies don’t cover flood unless the water came from the plumbing system of the house. You may have limited coverage if it was a sewer type back-up.
As to the replacement cost question, the original price paid is irrelevant. You claim what it would cost to replace it for an identical item today. If you have Replacement Cost coverage on your policy, you should be able to collect that much. If not, you would be able to collect the depreciated value.
Thanks, it’s the landlord’s insurance and it was a broken pipe in the apartment two floors up, so I should be OK on coverage. I think I’ve got some research ahead of me (on current prices). Thanks again.
Did you try to salvage any of the books? They might still be saved, even though it will cost to take them to a conservator. Be sure to freeze them until they are ready for treatment if you decide to try and save them. Mold is a bit health risk and it just loves wet papers. It can be prevented by freezing.
<Don’t sue me if this doesn’t work> You could also try to dry them by yourself in a low humidity environment by using a fan on them and intleaving the pages with clean blotter paper. Replace the paper after it gets damp. </Don’t sue me if this doesn’t work)
Never to be Queen…well, you’re a Princess to me! I’m afraid it’s way too late for most of the books. I was flooded four times in six days (landlord’s a wonderful guy, but not too hot at repairs) so nothing around here has dried any too well lately. By now a lot of the books look like nine day old bread. So thanks for the “heads up” on mold. I just dragged everything down to the basement.
Fortunately, the rarest books aren’t so badly damaged. I am trying to salvage them. But I’ll have to see what the insurance company says, cause they are damaged enough to have lost most of their “collectable” value.
How old are the books? If they’re not that old then an email to Amazon may be a good start - at the very least you’ll brighten some drone’s day. If the books are 50+ years old then you might try The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America http://abaa.org or Google ‘antiquarian bookseller’ for one near you.
I suggest you check your insurance policy carefully. You may be stuck with original cost, especially if you did not have them covered in your policy as collectibles (e.g., antiques, artwork, etc.). If they were only included as personal property and furnishings, you may be SOL when it comes to collecting appreciated value or cost of replacement.