Appraising A Cover

I believe I need to get a cover I own appraised for insurance purposes. It has already been certified as genuine use by Bill Weiss. Does anybody know where I can go for this type of service? Thanks.

Doug

Check with the APS. I believe they will do this.
You might also give Hugh Wood a call. He can certainly recommend someone!

Peter

Why not just post a photo???

If already certified, as stated, it must have
a catalog # and "book value"

The "book value" for postal history is usually for the most basic cover. Destinations, markings, etc can add a considerable amount to book values.

Guess I could call Hugh. I have my insurance with him. Duh!

It has a catalog number but the book value does not get specific to date. It is a leap day cancel.

Doug

Call your insurance company and ask them to recommend an appraiser that they will agree to accept as qualified and that they will honor that person's appraisal in case of loss. Unless your insurance company agrees in advance that an specific appraisal is accurate they can chose to not accept it no matter who is did the appraising. This is especially important on something so subjective as a cover with a leap day cancel.

Talk to the insurance agency before you jump through too many hoops.

A general idea of the value of the cover, with good scans of both sides is probably enough. Most collectible policies won't need you to call out any individual item unless it's worth over many thousands of dollars. In the case of a loss, you'll have to show a determination of the value at the time of the loss for the claim anyway. A quick appraisal from a scan from a dealer/auctioneer you've done business with in the past will likely suffice, but confirm that with the insurance company.

Unless there is something else about the cover that gives it value, simply being a Feb 29th date probably won't kick it into the stratosphere. My policy has a $10K per item limit unless something is listed separately. I think that is typical of the collectibles policies I've seen. If you are listing your stamps/covers on your homeowners insurance, you'd probably save more time and money getting a dedicated stamps policy than getting the cover formally appraised.

Chip

Thanks for all the suggestions. You all helped take care of things.

Doug