Quick answer
UK insurers require a dated inventory with photographs, grade, and current valuation for every coin, a written specialist valuation (signed, within 3 years) for items over £10,000, and proof of storage conditions for high-value collections. MyCoinage Pro generates an insurer-ready PDF that Hiscox, T.H. March, and Collectibles Insurance Services all accept.
TL;DR
- Every insurer wants per-item records, not a single lump-sum figure
- Specialist insurers (Hiscox, T.H. March, CIS) accept digital records; mass-market home insurers often don't
- Valuations over 3 years old will be queried in any claim
- Single-item limits on standard home contents policies are typically £1,500-£2,500, rare coins blow through this instantly
- Storage matters: home safe, bank deposit box, or specialist vault changes the premium
Table of contents
- What standard home insurance covers (and doesn't)
- The five specialist insurers UK collectors use
- What the records must contain
- Valuation: when do I need a professional?
- Storage conditions and their effect on premiums
- Making a claim: what insurers actually ask for
- Common questions
- FAQ
What standard home insurance covers (and doesn't)
Standard home contents policies treat coins as "valuables" with sub-limits. Typical 2026 limits:
| Insurer | Valuables sub-limit | Single-item limit | Coins specifically named? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | £5,000-£15,000 | £1,500 | No |
| Direct Line | £5,000 | £1,500 | No |
| Admiral | £5,000-£10,000 | £2,000 | No |
| LV= | £10,000 | £2,500 | No |
| Churchill | £7,500 | £1,500 | No |
If your collection total exceeds the valuables sub-limit, or any single coin exceeds the single-item limit, standard home insurance underprotects you. A £3,000 sovereign in a £1,500-single-item policy is only partly covered in a claim.
The solutions
Either: (a) list specific items above the single-item limit on a "specified items" schedule with your standard insurer, or (b) take a dedicated collectibles policy with a specialist insurer. Option (b) is usually cheaper for collections over £10,000.
The five specialist insurers UK collectors use
Hiscox. Home & Contents with specified valuables is the standard route. Accept digital records, require written valuations for items over £10,000.
T.H. March. Long-established jewellery and collectibles specialist. Coin-friendly, accept MyCoinage-style digital inventories.
Collectibles Insurance Services (CIS). US-based but writes UK policies through brokers. Specialises in coin, stamp, and sports memorabilia.
Ecclesiastical. More commonly used for religious and historical artefacts but write numismatic cover on request.
Lloyd's syndicates via broker. For collections over £250,000 most collectors go via a specialist broker like Miller or Aon to place cover at Lloyd's.
Typical premiums (2026)
Roughly 0.3%-0.7% of insured value per year for a well-stored collection in the UK. A £50,000 collection costs £150-£350 annually. Storage in a certified safe reduces this; storage in an unsecured display case increases it.
What the records must contain
Every insurer asks for the same fundamentals:
Per-item fields
- Unique reference (your internal ID or a catalogue number)
- Denomination and year
- Mintmark and variety
- Grade
- Photograph (both sides, min 1500 pixels long edge)
- Acquisition date
- Acquisition source
- Current valuation
- Date of current valuation
- Basis of valuation (self, app-generated, written specialist)
See the coin inventory checklist for the underlying field discipline.
Collection-wide
- Total value
- Total count
- Storage address and conditions
- Any items stored off-premises
Format
PDF is universal. CSV is useful as a backup. Physical print is belt-and-braces, keep a copy at a different address (with a trusted family member, in a bank deposit box, or with your solicitor).
Valuation: when do I need a professional?
| Item value | Valuation required |
|---|---|
| Under £1,000 | Self-valuation acceptable |
| £1,000-£10,000 | App-generated or dealer quote acceptable for most insurers |
| £10,000+ | Written valuation from specialist valuer required |
| £50,000+ | Written valuation from named valuation house (Spink, Baldwin's) |
Hiscox require a signed valuation within the last 3 years for any single item above £10,000. T.H. March require the same. If the valuation is older than 3 years at claim time, the insurer may reduce the settlement to reflect the stale figure.
Who can sign a valuation?
- Members of the British Numismatic Trade Association (BNTA)
- RICS Chartered Valuers with a numismatic specialism (rare)
- Specialists at Spink, Baldwin's, Noonans, Dix Noonan Webb
- Overseas equivalents (PCGS, NGC) for US-focused collections
Typical cost: £150-£400 for a collection of 20-50 coins, more for larger. Rewrite every 3 years or after significant market moves.
What MyCoinage's auto-valuation covers
The Pro-tier PDF shows app-generated valuations based on realised auction data. Insurers accept this for items below the specialist-valuation threshold. For items above, the PDF supplements, not replaces, the written valuation. See coin collection insurance UK for fuller detail.
Storage conditions and their effect on premiums
Insurers grade storage roughly as:
| Storage | Premium modifier |
|---|---|
| Unsecured display case, home | +25% |
| Locked cabinet, home | Baseline |
| BS EN 1143-1 Grade 3+ safe, home, alarmed | −15% |
| Bank safe deposit box | −30% |
| Specialist vault (e.g. IBV, Loomis) | −35% |
A grade-rated home safe anchored properly, with a monitored alarm, hits most insurers' sweet spot. Bank deposit boxes are cheapest but inconvenient.
Alarm and safe certification
Hiscox specifically require:
- Safe bolted to masonry or weighing over 150kg
- Alarm certified to PD 6662
- Response to an ARC (alarm receiving centre)
Chubb, Securikey and Burton offer residential safes at the required grade for £800-£2,500.
Making a claim: what insurers actually ask for
When something goes wrong, the insurer asks for (in this order):
- Police reference number (theft) or fire brigade report (fire)
- Inventory with photographs of missing items
- Proof of ownership (receipts, auction invoices, MyCoinage transaction log)
- Current valuation basis
- Evidence of storage conditions (often a photograph pre-loss)
- Any relevant CCTV
Why the app-generated PDF matters here
At claim time, you may not be able to access your home (fire, crime scene). A cloud-hosted inventory, downloadable to any device, means the loss adjuster gets a complete inventory within hours rather than days. Hiscox loss adjusters explicitly prefer digital-first inventories.
The underinsurance trap
If your schedule values the collection at £30,000 but a post-loss valuation shows £50,000, the insurer may apply "average", pay only 60% of the claim. Annual updates to the inventory prevent this.
Common questions
Can I insure coins on my standard home contents policy?
Up to the valuables sub-limit and single-item limit, yes. Above those, you need a specific-items schedule or a collectibles policy.
Do I need to tell the insurer every time I buy a coin?
For "unspecified" items under the single-item limit, no. For specified items above the limit, yes, usually a quick email with the new item's details and valuation.
What if the insurer rejects my inventory format?
They rarely do, but PDF with photographs and the ten fields above is universally accepted. If rejected, ask what specific fields are missing.
Does storing coins in a bank deposit box affect insurance?
Yes, reduces premiums 25-30% typically. But bank deposit boxes themselves aren't insured by the bank; you still need a policy, just a cheaper one.
FAQ
Q: Are inherited coins automatically insured under my policy?
A: No. Tell your insurer within 30 days of acquisition (most policies). Provide the inherited valuation or get a fresh one.
Q: What about coins I've taken to a coin fair?
A: Most specialist policies cover "transit and temporary location" up to 30 days, up to a named limit. Confirm before the fair.
Q: Do MyCoinage PDFs work for US insurers?
A: Yes. Collectibles Insurance Services and major US collectors' insurers accept them.
Q: What's the cheapest way to insure a £20,000 UK collection?
A: T.H. March specified-items cover is typically the cheapest at 0.35% of value, assuming grade-rated safe storage and an alarm.
Q: How does probate valuation differ from insurance valuation?
A: Probate uses open-market value (what a willing buyer would pay at arm's length). Insurance uses replacement value (what you'd pay at retail). Probate figures are typically 20-30% lower. See coin collection probate valuation.