insurance

As wine collections increase in value, collectors should consider insuring a valuable collection. According to the experts at Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's Wine Collector Management Services, here are a few things to keep in mind before buying a policy (or renewing or amending one you already have).

Insure your collection separately if it is valuable
As a consumable that appreciates in value as it ages, wine is a unique asset. If your collection has great value, it should probably be insured separately from your general homeowners' insurance policy. If not, you may run the risk that it is under-insured. The average bottle cost in a wine cellar is often $100 or more; individual bottles can easily reach $700 to $1,000 for top wines. A cellar that contains, say, 500 to 1,000 bottles, can be worth between $50,000 and $100,000. Values can easily climb into the millions for larger collections.

Choose blanket coverage or itemized coverage, or a combination of the two
With blanket coverage, your entire collection is covered under one limit, with a single bottle limit of up to $50,000 (with a Fireman's Fund policy). Itemized coverage is recommended for wines valued at $10,000 or more and can be combined with blanket coverage to provide the best protection for your collection. There should be no deductibles on standard policies.

If you buy insurance, be sure it covers all risks
Buy coverage that spans a wide spectrum of causes of loss including fire and theft breakage, flood, and a range of others. You will also need coverage for loss due to power outage or mechanical breakdown of heating, cooling and humidity control equipment, all of which are critical coverages for oenophiles.

Don't transport your wine without checking with your insurer first
Before you transport your wine, ask your agent or insurer if this is a covered risk by your insurance policy. Be certain your wine is protected worldwide and while in transit.

Sure, it's nice to ogle cars in the 200 mph club, or even the 150 mph club, for that matter. But have you ever considered the costs of insuring such prized possessions?

Forbes has done a little study on the subject for us, and while we're not surprised to find that the pricier the vehicle, the pricier the insurance, we're shocked to see how much it really costs to insure these beasts. Check it out:

That Mercedes S-class you've been hot for? Try in excess of $22,500 per year, and this with just $500 deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage, $100,000 each for personal and property coverage and $25,000 each for medical and uninsured coverage, according to Forbes. Considering the likely owner of the car will have assets far beyond what's listed there, we're talking a huge chunk of change.

According to Forbes, 20% of the price of luxury cars is a good rule of thumb. That means, however, that someone paying a low lease payment on a car like the Mercedes S-class will likely end up paying more to cover it than the actual monthly payment itself.

Other surprising numbers:

BMW M5 and M6: $18,548
Mercedes G-Class: $17,784
Jaguar XK: $16,154
Land Rover Range Rover: $16,042

The moral of the story? Check with your insurer before committing to buy a lease a car to be sure on overall costs.

[Source: Forbes]

Mariah Carey has recently been chosen as the spokeswoman for Gillette's newest campaign, Legs of a Goddess. It wasn't mentioned how much Gillette is paying the singer for her role with them, but it must be quite a lot, as Carey has just taken out a $1 billion insurance policy on her legs. She isn't the first celebrity to insure a body part, but she is setting a new high standard with the amount of the policy. Other celebs who are putting a price on their legs include Heidi Klum ($1.2 million right leg, $1 million left), Betty Grable ($1 million), Jamie Lee Curtis ($1 million) and Fred Astaire ($75,000).