What happens to your books
The CBB -> Anything Else
Are your Chalet books insured
Yes
10%
 10%  [ 4 ]
No
89%
 89%  [ 33 ]
Total Votes : 37

#1: What happens to your books Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 6:37 pm

This subject came up on Msn this afternoon, and whilst I have no idea about insurance for general purposes it might be somehting some of us should look into.

I do however have a copy of an article by Betula O'Neill of Topsy Turvey books about what happends to your books when you die and as it seemed a relevant sideline to that discussion I thought I would seek her permission to post it her. She has kindly said yes, and added that if anyone wishes to contact her about it then that is fine.

I think it was written early last year

So here it is:

But what about my Book Collection?

In one of the author appreciation magazines last year, there was an article
about a collection of books by Elsie Oxenham, belonging to Regina Glick (a
friend of the author), which was bought by two professional book dealers and
then sold for a huge profit. Whilst there is nothing *wrong* with dealers
buying and splitting the collection - it happens all the time! - I
understand, from various things said in previous Chronicles, that this was
not at all what Regina would have wished.

I know that the subject of what might happen to your book collection, both
before and after your death has been covered in various appreciation
societies, but not everyone belongs to a society, so I thought I would take
the liberty of mentioning this now. The one thing that I know that we all
have in common is that we collect and enjoy reading books written for
children! As the middle segment of an active three-generation book
collecting team, *and* a part-time seller, *and* the wife of a professional
will-writer, I decided to put pen to paper (OK; fingers to keyboard!) and
offer my thoughts and advice, for what they're worth.

Many of us have been collecting books for more years than we might care to
remember, and may well only have paid a few pounds for even the rarest
titles. Because of this, many collectors have no real idea of the current
value of their books. Collections are rarely properly insured, for instance,
as people tend to think that they will be covered under an ordinary
"household contents" policy. Sadly, few insurance companies would be willing
to accept a claim for hundreds - maybe even thousands - of pounds for a
collection of children's books, unless they were written by C.S. Lewis,
Beatrix Potter or the like! In most contents policies any item worth more
than £500.00 has to be mentioned specifically, and many insurers stipulate
that a collection of books by a single author counts as one item. Do
consider checking your insurance policy and protecting your collection. No;
you may well not be able to replace every title, should the worst happen and
your collection be lost, but you could go a long way towards building up a
new collection!

If you have a camera, do take close-up photographs of your books, a few at a
time, and in a way that the title and condition of each book are shown. This
will assist the police in identifying your property if they are ever stolen
and recovered, and help to show what has been lost if the books should be
destroyed by fire or flood, and show your insurance company that you are
serious about, and careful of your collection! It is a time-consuming task,
but well worth the hassle, honestly!

Now; having insured and treasured your books during your lifetime, what
about afterwards? If you have a family member who shares your interests,
then you are among the lucky ones! Even so, if you have a good collection of
books they could well be worth a significant sum, and you may wish to share
the value of your property, if not the books themselves, between two or more
of your relations.

1) This means that your executors would need to know whom to approach about
a valuation for your collection. With the prices for collectible children's
books rising fast there would be little point in relying on a valuation done
now for insurance purposes, because the chances are that the value would be
very different in a few - or many! - years time. Do consider adding a
codicil to your will, giving details of the bookseller or shop to be
contacted when the time comes. (Obviously you would need to approach the
seller/shop first, to check whether they will undertake a valuation, and the
fees involved!)

2) If you have no family/friend to whom you wish to leave your collection,
you have a further decision to make. Do you want your books to go to keen
collectors, either as a gift, or at fair prices? If so, you might consider
leaving instructions for the executors to approach the author appreciation
society for the author/authors concerned. They will be able to distribute
your collection among genuine collectors and at fair prices, if that is your
wish, passing the proceeds back to your executors for dispersal as
instructed in your will. If your executors are also the people who will
acquire your collection - or the value of it when sold - you could write a
formal letter to them, to be stored with your will, telling them who to
contact and how to go about selling the books. Don't forget, however, that
to be legally binding, your wishes have either to be part of the will, or a
witnessed codicil.

3) If you would like your collection to be sold to benefit your
family/friends as much as possible, then you could contact a known and
trusted specialist bookseller, to inquire whether they would be prepared to
deal with your collection after your death. (This is a service I have
undertaken to do for various friends and customers, and I know of other
sellers who are willing to act in this way, but not all are able/willing to
do so.) There is usually a fee involved, and you would need to negotiate
with the chosen dealer whether they would;
a) buy your whole collection for a fair price and sell it on themselves, or
b) sell what they can, giving the proceeds of the sale - less commission -
and any unsold books back to your estate.

Once again, you will need to have the contact information and instructions
listed in your will or as a codicil. I cannot give examples of the costs
involved in employing a bookseller in this way, as each seller will have
their own ideas on how to go about the dispersion of a collection of books
and their own ideas on fair play. General booksellers, however willing, are
not likely to be able value children's books accurately, so do make sure the
person you approach is used to dealing with "our" type of books!

The foregoing paragraphs have been written in the assumption that you
already have a will but amazingly, almost two-thirds of adults in England
and Wales (sorry, I don't know the statistics for other countries!) die
without leaving a valid will. Never mind about your dependent
children/parents/animals, make provision for your collection! What better
reason could there possibly be for doing the job now? (I'm afraid that's
rather a tongue-in-cheek remark, but wills are something I feel very
strongly about, and not just because writing them is Patrick's job!)

Making a will no longer has to be an expensive task involving two or more
trips to solicitors, whose offices always seem to be in areas where it is
difficult and expensive to park! Patrick, for example, operates on a home
visiting basis, making a single will for as little as £45.00, and he is
not - much as I love him! - unique. With the recent changes to the laws
governing who may offer legal services, there are now many individuals and
small firms operating in a similar way, all over the country. You can even
give your instructions by post, telephone or email, thus removing the need
to leave your home or have a stranger visit you!

If this article sounds rather like an advertisement for will-writers in
general or Patrick in particular, then I'm sorry. I hesitated to write it,
for fear it would be construed thus. However if, after reading it, even one
person decides to check on or take out insurance, or to make a will, thus
ensuring that his/her possessions - including those precious books - are
dispersed according to his/her wishes, then I am sure I can survive any
personal criticism I may attract in bringing the matter to your attention.

I hope you will accept this offering in the spirit of book-friendship in
which it was written! Our book collections - however grand or humble they
are - are important to us, and that's fine, but surely family and friends
are still more important; the authors whose books we enjoyed obviously
thought so!

Enjoy your books!

Betula

#2:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 7:49 pm

Thank you Carolyn, thats very useful, sadly I don't have mine insured!!!

#3:  Author: claire, Location: SOUTH WALES PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 8:35 pm

I don't have mine insured either (and I did work out the value the other week (gulp) ) but don't know if the household insurance mentions book collections, maybe I should check

#4:  Author: Gabrielle,  PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 8:53 pm

My books live with my parents and should anything happen to me they have instructions on what to do with them.

#5:  Author: Ellie, Location: Lincolnshire PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:10 am

Blimey, my house isn't even insured, never mind my books!
Stupid insurance co refused us cover since we have a high risk of flooding - which is really odd since the only water within 5 - 6 miles is a duckpond. A very small duckpond.

#6:  Author: Guest,  PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:32 am

Hello folks!

Carolyn asked whether she could post my article on books and Willls, and I was perfectly happy for her to do so. One person has emailed me already on the subject, and I thought it might be wise to make a further point, just to clarify things for the members of this list, who may be anywhere in the world.

Yes, Patrick can write Wills without making a home visit, (as can many other Will-writers) and often deals with clients entirely by email, but he can take instructions only from people resident in the UK, as the law varies from country to country.

If anyone should want further details, let me know.

Good Hunting!

Betula

#7:  Author: Katarzyna, Location: Preston, Lancashire PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:23 am

Most of my books (particuarly those in long series, particular authors and first editions) are catologued and insured under the household policy as a seperate item, sort of like you would do for an antique.

In my will they are all left to various friends and family. In the case of the CS books they are left to my Goddaughter to do with them as she pleases.

Will's are very simple and not that expensive to get drawn up. It may seem silly but really everyone should have one no matter what your age. Aside from what happens to your books many of us on here have animals and it means that you can stipulate what happens to them when your not around to provide for them any more.

#8:  Author: Nicki, Location: New Zealand PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:43 am

Thanks for posting this Carolyn.

I have a will, and insurance, but I didn't realise a book collection counted as a single item. That means even a pb collection is worth over £600 - there was a whole collection sold for £650 on ebay a few weeks ago.

Also hadn't thought that we need to get new wills for a new country, so that's doubly useful!

#9:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:17 pm

Carolyn, thanks for doing this. See that none of us so far have our books insured.

#10:  Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:53 pm

I'd never even thought of insurance, or what will happen to my books in the future.

#11:  Author: LL, Location: Tottenham, London PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 2:30 pm

good point! i have thought about wills and stuff on occasion, feels very odd though!

#12:  Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:49 pm

I had never thought about my collection until I got a copy of this from Betula last year. I am going to put in my will to contact a specialist as I know no one in my family will appreciate them so they can be sold to someone who will love them, as much as I do.

#13:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:28 pm

I've certainly thought about insuring my collection, although never what will happen to it eventually. Unfortunately, to get it put on the household insurance would mean telling my mum how much it is worth, and by implication, how much I've spent, and that could be veeeeerrrryyyy bad indeed!

does anyone know anything about getting it insured on a separate policy, or would it have to be on the household insurance that already exists?

#14:  Author: claire, Location: SOUTH WALES PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 7:58 pm

Donna wrote:
Unfortunately, to get it put on the household insurance would mean telling my mum how much it is worth, and by implication, how much I've spent, and that could be veeeeerrrryyyy bad indeed!


Not necessarily, tell her you got some amazing bargains - I worked out what I had paid for my CS books and what similar copies were being sold for on Abe and there was about a grand difference.

By the way, couldn't find a price for a first of school at, with NKB illustrations, pictoral boards but no d/j any ideas?

#15:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:23 pm

I do know that what I've spent on my collection is no where near what it appears to be worth as it's mainly p/b I picked up cheap or h/b before even the common one's went throuigh the roof.

#16:  Author: pim, Location: the place where public transport doesn't work properly! PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:38 pm

Hopefully (fingers crossed) mine are covered on my parents' household insurance... Sadly, they don't know how much I've wasted... err... on them so hopefully nothing will ever happen that I need to worry about it. If I had them at uni with me then they would be on my insurance thingy policy that I have there (not too good on all this insurace biz).

#17:  Author: Nicki, Location: New Zealand PostPosted: Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:45 pm

Donna wrote:
does anyone know anything about getting it insured on a separate policy, or would it have to be on the household insurance that already exists?


I know we've got a separate policy purely for hubby's expensive guitar Shocked (and the amount he spent on that means I can ALWAYS justify what I spend on books! Very Happy )
So I imagine you could get a separate one for your books Donna.

#18:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Thu Apr 01, 2004 5:18 pm

I have seperate insurance for my Tenor Horn and its great because it is covered in a car accident, or if it dissapeared during a contest. Perhaps there is a specialist insurance company out there!!

#19:  Author: Nicole, Location: New Zealand PostPosted: Thu Apr 01, 2004 8:22 pm

Donna, I can't comment on UK insurance policies, but in NZ a contents policy tends to cover the named policy holder and members of their family who are living with them at the specified situation of risk. Once children move from home (unless it's to a hostel affiliated with a school or university) they need to look at taking out their own policies.
I've found this thread to be quite interesting reading given that I work in insurance and would like to stress to you all the importance of reading and understanding your insurance policies. Believe me, I know they're very dry reading, but the vast majority of issues that I have with my client's relate directly to the fact that they receive their policy documents and don't bother reading them, so when they come to lodge a claim they are trying to claim for something that falls outside the scope of the policy coverage. I then have the joy of declining their claim and getting a mouthful from the client because they "didn't know".
With the company that I work for, collections that are worth over $2250 need to be specified on the policy, otherwise that's the maximum that we can pay. It's quite hard to tell a client who's lost everything that we can't pay them what a particular item is worth.
If anyone from NZ has any specific questions relating to this, PM or email me and I'll try and answer them for you.

#20:  Author: Ciorstaidh, Location: London PostPosted: Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:57 pm

I have insured my books, did so after a casual comment to Gill Bilski revealed that a nearly complete hb collection is worth £5000 Shocked

Although I haven't insured my other books yet and I really should do - the whole colelction is probably worth in the region of £20,000 Shocked

As for my policy, it's about £12 a month, not bad really. It comes as an extra with my Endsleigh contents insurance.

#21:  Author: Helen, Location: Melbourne, Australia PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 10:47 am

I do have my collection of books covered which would include the CS books. Also my CDs and Dolls collections. I didn't think I had that many of any of these things until I added it all up. Gulp! Part of my home insurance but listed separately.

Well I have been robbed three times and I have only lived in seven places.

#22:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 11:44 am

I did a quick add up of my GGBP books and they are already worth double!!! So its not just the HB's you need to consider!!!

#23:  Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 12:02 pm

For those who are concerned about parents knowing what you have spent, unless you bought recently, values have increased and you are insuring them for what it would cost to replace them now! Like all insurance, it will need reviewing from time to time to ensure you keep in step with changes in prices.

#24:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 4:15 pm

unfortunately, mine were all bought recently! Think I will have to go with the "I got incredible bargains" idea - which isn't totally a lie. Some of them I have bought very cheaply.

#25:  Author: PatMac, Location: Yorkshire England PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2004 4:21 pm

Go for it Donna - you've only just discovered what they are worth haven't you? Wink

#26:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Sun Apr 04, 2004 8:25 pm

I mentioned to my mum today about putting the books on the insurance. Her reply was "get your own policy"! I think that solves that problem! Smile

#27:  Author: Guest,  PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:21 am

Donna wrote:

does anyone know anything about getting it insured on a separate policy, or would it have to be on the household insurance that already exists?


You could certainly insure youir books youself; they don't need to be on your parents' insurance just becasue you are living with them. That way, if you were to move out, you could just inform your insurance company of the change of address, and continue your policy.

Happy Reading!

Betula

#28:  Author: Rach, Location: Cheltenham, England PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:07 am

Ciorstaidh - can I just ask what sort of insurance policy you've got? I'm insured with Endsleigh anyway, so I'd quite like to stick with them. Is it just a named item on your general insurance or something different?

#29:  Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet! PostPosted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 9:11 am

How do you know how much your books are worth?

As for books and what will happen to them if i go before Xan they go to her, bit not thnking about that yet!

#30:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 1:47 pm

You can do research on abe Chloe, which will give you an idea of the current prices.

#31:  Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet! PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 12:48 am

Ok now i'm going to sound really thick but
a) what's abe?
b)how do i use it?

#32:  Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 5:36 am

ABE once stood for Advance Book Exchange. It can be accessed at http://www.abebooks.com/. It's a good place for checking prices, because book stores from all over list their used books there. Be careful -- it is highly addictive and bad for the bank account.

#33:  Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet! PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:08 am

Thanks Kathy just as well i don't have a card to use on the internet then, maybe i can introduce my dad to the site though! Very Happy

#34:  Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 5:13 pm

Chloë wrote:
Ok now i'm going to sound really thick but
a) what's abe?
b)how do i use it?


Not thick at all Chloe - my fault for assuming that everyone had fallen prey to its charms! Smile I usually use the UK version http://www.abebooks.co.uk/ simply because it gives me a chance to search for books from UK booksellers first, but I suppose they're just as good as each other!

a word of warning though - a simple search for brent dyer will turn up a LOT of pages!

#35:  Author: Ciorstaidh, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2004 4:29 pm

Rach wrote:
Ciorstaidh - can I just ask what sort of insurance policy you've got? I'm insured with Endsleigh anyway, so I'd quite like to stick with them. Is it just a named item on your general insurance or something different?


It's under the general insurace - I balked at the cost, but it's necessary (cos they fall under the jewellry and other valuables section) to go for the £8000 contents policy. The premium is £474 a year (that includes take out insurance for my trumpet and also computer insurance though). But it's a necessary for me. I must say I'm shopping around to try and get a special one for the instrument and separate for the books cos then the premuim should go through the floor.

#36:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:59 pm

'cuse the offtopicness, but Kirsty have you tried BBIS for your trumpet insurance?? I have my horn insured with them for £2000 which works out £26 per year, and covers the instrument at all times. If this helps i'll pass you more details on Very Happy

#37:  Author: Chloë, Location: London: when away from home planet! PostPosted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:36 pm

I tried using the site but got all confused Embarassed

oh well i've already had kidnap attempts on some of my books Rolling Eyes

#38:  Author: Sarah_L, Location: Redcar PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:39 am

I've just bought Barbara off abebooks through Amazon for about £1.65. My first purchase from them.

#39:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:10 am

Chloë wrote:
oh well i've already had kidnap attempts on some of my books Rolling Eyes


Who would that be by Chloë?

#40:  Author: Emma, Location: Lichfield PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:27 pm

I can't think who would have tried to kidnap some of Chloes books!!

I've never even thought about insuring my books and I'm not even sure if my step dad has got his Biggles collection insured. I know Im def going to look into it after reading this discussion cos Id be gutted if all my CS collection were to be stolen and even more gutted if I didnt have the funds to replace them!!

 

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