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Properly Insuring Your Sewing Machine

We Carry
by Sara Snuggerud in Sewing Tips

No matter where you live natural disasters can strike at any time. Over the years, areas around the world have been hit with natural disasters of all types – floods, tornados, fires, and even theft. we thought it would be a good idea to repost this information.

Sewing rooms and fabric stashes that are irreplaceable. And those sewing machines, they are almost as precious as the family pet.

No one can ever imagine what it feels like or what it is going to take to recover from a natural disaster.

Not until something happens close to home are we then reminded of what should be documented for our own insurance needs in case of an unexpected emergency. A little preparedness can go a long way.

We contacted our local insurance provider to ask how one would go about getting replacement value of sewing machines and a “Fabric Stash”. With some sewing machines valuing $10,000 – $16,000, are these items covered under a basic homeowner’s policy or should there be an additional policy?

Do take time to check with your insurance agent to confirm the type of policy you own and how they best suggest documenting and assessing the value of the contents of your sewing room.

Sewing machines seem to land in the “appliance” category on a basic home owner’s policy. They would be automatically covered without having to do much else. Having proper documentation of the receipt, model and serial number would help expedite any questions on a claim form.

But since fabric is purchased a little at a time and goes into a collection over time, it is not necessary to save every single receipt. (Most of us would not want to know what this would add up to in the first place! Nor would we want anyone else to know!) The best suggestion is to take pictures. Pictures are proof of what you actually have behind those closed closet doors. Do you store fabric in tubs? Open up the lid of each tub and snap a photo.

Our State Farm office suggests, “Take photos of every wall in your home. Make a list of the items in each picture and store the documented information, receipts, and serial numbers in a safe deposit box or on DropBox.com.”

Click here for a great link to creating an inventory list of your entire home.

To insure actual sewn quilts and other sewn items, again documentation is key to having some sort of compensation for all your hard work. Keep a diary of photographed finished projects for not only insurance purposes but for recording your project’s completion date, fabrics used, and maybe even the inspiration behind the finished item.

Taking a little time now could save you thousands of dollars in the future. Just think if you got a check to replace your entire sewing room today…how would you spend it?

Could you describe your sewing room’s contents after emotionally surviving a traumatizing event? Most of us probably could not recall everything.

It’s time to get your camera or video recording device out and start documenting and taking lots of pictures. Let the pictures on TV remind you of this very important step you can do today.