INSURE YOUR DESIGNER CLOTHES – NOW

If you are a lover of all things fashion – designer clothes, bags, shoes, and jewelries, you may want to insure them. Remember, a homeowners insurance does not cover these things.

Insurance companies normally classify clothing, shoes, and handbags under household contents category, which are subject to high deductions, limits, and exclusions, including floods, mold, and moth damage.

The AIG Private Client Group, a division of American International Group Inc., has come up with an insurance product for one’s expansive and expensive wardrobe, Created in September 2015, the company, together Garde Robe Online, LLC, developed the wearable coverage products protecting couture and designer garb. The company has recognized the high value placed on designer fashions and wardrobe accessories. As of present, the insurance policy is available in New York and Texas, and will be made available in other states by the end of the year.

A brainchild of Garde Robe Online owner Doug Greenberg, he noticed most of his clients declined their proffered insurance on clothes kept in its facilities. So he talked to insurance underwriters and proposed the product. AIG sent underwriters to designers’ boutiques to study the materials and workmanship entailed in fashion and interviewed their partner’s clients.

The insurance product covers both couture and ready-to-wear garments, shoes, handbags, vintage clothings, and other accessories, as well as custom, and work in progress clothes and shoes. Sold under private collections policy, it includes damage on any designer garments due to earthquakes, floods, mold, and moths, and accidents as well. They also shoulder dry cleaning and restoration expenses by high-end garment care specialist if a designer piece is caused by above-mentioned instances. If you opt to remove your designer wardrobe from your house to avert an impending threat, the insurance covers it, too. The clothing is also covered across the globe, even when it is in transit.

It will cover the repair or replacement of apparels. The policy encompasses a loss-in-value provision, meaning if a collection of big-ticket gowns is damaged due to a natural calamity, the owner of that gowns may be recompensed for the reduced value and any repairs, if any.

The company has also an in-house collection management specialists to help maintain the value of collectible garments, handbags, and shoes in the long run. They render services such as vulnerability assessments, referrals to wardrobe-preservation specialists, and emergency planning.

How much does this insurance cost? Let us presume your designer wardrobe is valued at $1 million, it would cost about $3,000 a year to insure it. The premiums differ depending on the location of a clothing collection. There are also incentives to those who use professional storage services where clothes are stored in a breathable garment bags and hid in climate-controlled space.