In the realm of gaming and collector cards, an enchanting world awaits. From strategic gameplay to the thrill of collecting rare gems, this hobby offers excitement, value, and a unique form of expression. In this SEO-optimized blog post, we will delve into the various types of gaming and collector cards, highlighting their value and emphasizing the crucial need for insurance to protect your valuable investments.

The Thrill of Collecting:

Gaming and collector cards hold immense value for enthusiasts. Each card possesses its own allure, whether it's stunning artwork, limited editions, player autographs, or historical significance. As collectors, we cherish the pursuit of completing sets, finding rare editions, and building an exceptional collection that reflects our passion.

Types of Gaming and Collector Cards:

Trading Card Games (TCGs):
Trading Card Games, such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, combine strategy and collectibility. These captivating games offer endless entertainment, engaging players in battles using decks of unique and powerful cards. The rarity and desirability of certain cards have made them valuable assets sought after by collectors worldwide.

Sports Trading Cards:
Sports trading cards bring the excitement of athletic achievements into your collection. Featuring beloved athletes from various sports, these cards offer a tangible connection to the world of sports. Rare editions, autographed cards, and those associated with significant moments in sports history can command substantial value.

Video Game Cards:
Video game cards allow collectors to bring their favorite virtual worlds into the physical realm. These cards often showcase characters, artwork, and gameplay elements from popular video game franchises. With the growth of gaming culture, these cards have gained recognition and value among collectors.

Understanding the Value:

The value of gaming and collector cards can be astonishing. Rare and sought-after cards can appreciate significantly over time, especially when they become harder to find or achieve legendary status. Historical significance, limited editions, and player achievements can all contribute to a card's value. Staying informed about market trends, card conditions, and collector demand is essential for making informed investment decisions.

The Importance of Insurance:

To protect your valuable card collection, obtaining proper insurance coverage is crucial. While cards hold sentimental value, their financial worth can be substantial. Unforeseen events, such as theft, fire, or natural disasters, can jeopardize your investment. Insuring your cards ensures that you can be financially compensated for their loss or damage, allowing you to rebuild your collection and preserve your investment.

Collectibles Insurance:

Collectibles insurance offers specialized coverage for valuable items, including gaming and collector cards. These policies provide protection against risks such as theft, accidental damage, fire, and more. With agreed value coverage, you can establish the worth of your collection upfront, ensuring fair compensation in the event of a covered loss. Consult with experienced insurance advisors who specialize in collectibles insurance to ensure you have the right coverage for your unique collection.

In conclusion:

Gaming and collector cards hold extraordinary value, both in terms of personal enjoyment and potential financial worth. As you embark on your collecting journey, remember to safeguard your investment through proper insurance coverage. Protecting your prized cards ensures that you can continue to revel in the joy of collecting and have peace of mind knowing that your valuable assets are secure.

At Hecht Insurance Advisors, we understand the significance of your gaming and collector cards. Our team of insurance experts specializes in providing tailored collectibles insurance solutions. We offer comprehensive coverage against a range of risks and ensure that your valuable cards are adequately protected. With our expertise and personalized service, we strive to give you the peace of mind you deserve.

Remember, as you expand your card collection, regularly reassess your insurance coverage to account for any new acquisitions or changes in the value of your cards. Keep meticulous records, including photographs, descriptions, and appraisals of your collection, to facilitate the claims process in case of loss or damage.

Don't leave your valuable card collection vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances. Learn more about collectibles insurance at Hecht Insurance Advisors today and let us help you explore your collectibles insurance options. Our dedicated team is here to guide you and provide the protection your cherished cards deserve.

In the world of gaming and collector cards, passion meets investment. Safeguard your treasures and embrace the thrill of collecting with the assurance that comes from having the right insurance coverage in place.

​More exercise - When you own a dog, you should be taking it out for walks every day. And the benefit is that when you're exercising your pooch, you too are exercising. Walking 30 minutes a day can do wonders for your health.

Less stress - Numerous studies have shown that people with dogs have lower stress levels. Engaging with your dog in whatever form can reduce your stress.

Illness detection - Dogs really see the world through their noses thanks to their keen sense of smell. Some dogs are sensitive enough to detect the onset of epileptic seizures, or the presence of some cancers. Many dog owners have reported their dog sniffing, licking or nudging areas of the body that later turned out to be cancerous.

More allergy tolerance - Children who are raised around pets have a reduced chance of having allergies. And growing up with a dog can boost immunity to pet allergies later in life.

Boosting brain development - Dogs boost brain development in children, along with emotional growth and connection to others.

Stronger heart - Studies have shown that petting a dog can lower your heart rate, and male pet owners tend to have reduced rates of heart disease.

Less chance of depression - Dog owners are less likely to be depressed. The companionship they offer has been shown to help people who have been diagnosed with clinical depression, largely because caring for another living thing can help relieve symptoms of depression and make people feel more positive.

​Safety - Dogs are like a living alarm system. Barking dogs can keep burglars at bay and they can alert you if someone is snooping around the outside of your house, giving you a greater sense of security.

This can be important when a family's wealth is tied up in illiquid assets that are difficult to sell. With a second-to-die life policy in place, the family or estate executors receive the tax-free cash death benefit right away, and can use that to pay estate taxes, rather than be forced to sell off assets like small businesses and real estate to raise the cash.

Otherwise, heirs may be forced to sell assets in the estate at heavily discounted prices, or at a very poor time in the market to sell, to meet the estate tax deadline.

Second-to-die policies also typically have lower premiums for a given death benefit than standard single-insured life insurance policies.
 
Use of trusts to move life insurance out of the taxable estate
Who owns the insurance policy itself? It may be prudent to set up an irrevocable trust, and have the trust own the life policy, rather than own it directly in your own name.

Otherwise, the life insurance policy would be considered part of the taxable estate, which would increase your tax bill. Setting up a properly constructed irrevocable trust will help you avoid this problem.

To set up the trust, speak with a qualified attorney and your tax advisor. Only a licensed attorney can write the documents required to set up the trust and ensure that it meets the requirements necessary for the assets in the trust to be considered separate from the taxable estate of the deceased.

Once the trust is established, the trust can then become the owner of the life insurance policy.

But, the applications of the second-to-die life insurance policy don't stop there. Even if you don't expect your estate to be big enough to be subject to federal estate tax, there are a number of other uses for this type of life insurance:

• Funding for buy-sell agreements, where married couples operate their interests in a company together.
• To provide for equal distribution of an illiquid estate to children. For example, one child may be able to run an inherited family business or farm, while other children may not have the interest or aptitude. Life insurance allows one child to receive the business and the others to receive cash, rather than forcing them all to liquidate a viable family-owned business.
• Funding for special-needs children, who will still require support even after the death of the second parent. The parents can set up a special-needs trust to support the child - now an adult in many cases. This provides for their support without compromising their ability to qualify for Medicaid, food stamps or other need-based assistance.
• To provide funding for the education of grandchildren.

 
There are other specialized applications where second-to-die life insurance works extremely well as a planning tool. To see if this type of policy would benefit your family, call us at 540-712-2199, schedule an appointment, or video chat.

Here's what you should know about your homeowner's insurance at this time.

Business at home
If you have had to move your business to your home, you may want to review your homeowner's coverage. The typical homeowner's police have very low limits on business property (usually up to about $2,000), which would likely not be enough if your equipment is damaged or stolen. 

If you are suddenly running your business from home, please call us and we can go through your policy and, if needed, we can work with your insurer to see if they offer a home business endorsement or higher coverage limits for business property.

Also, if you are running an Airbnb out of your home for a room or another property, you should have purchased landlord coverage or home-sharing coverage as a typical homeowner's policy may not cover damage incurred by paying guests.
At this time, you are likely not getting anybody staying at your place, so you should contact your insurance company about pausing or canceling coverage since you will have no need for it for a while.
 
Filing a claim
If you have an incident in your home and need to file a claim, there's a good chance that your insurer will be unable to send an adjuster for an inspection. Most homeowner's insurers now have apps or offer you the ability to file your claim online on their website.  

The procedures for filing a claim using an app or doing it on your insurer's website is pretty straightforward. You can start by taking pictures of the damage and providing receipts or a list of the property that may have been damaged or stolen. If it was stolen, make sure you file a police report and submit that with the claim as well.

However, if you have a high-dollar claim, the insurer may send an adjuster to inspect the damage before they pay the claim. For smaller claims, it's likely they will pay them out.
 
What insurers are doing
Insurers are making adjustments to their operations and policies during this time as well. Their actions will vary from company to company, but there are similarities in some of their responses:

• Some insurers have announced that they won't cancel a policy for a policyholder who is temporarily out of work or has seen their income drastically cut. These carriers are granting premium payment extensions.
• For those people whose policies may be in danger of lapsing because they cannot afford to pay the full premium, some insurers are working with them to reinstate the policies and set up a payment plan. They are often waiving reinstatement fees as well.
• Many insurers are postponing scheduled home inspections.
• If an insurer has asked that certain home repairs be carried out for a policy to renew, and the policyholder can't meet the inspection deadline, some companies are giving more time to finish the repairs.

Insurers are still running their call centers (in some areas, these staff are working from home).

Typical BOP coverage

This article focuses on the typical Insurance Services Office BOP form, and some carriers have created their own with different coverages and limits. First, let's look at what the typical BOP covers:

1. Property insurance (covering buildings, equipment and inventory).
2. Business interruption insurance (covering losses that cause you to shut operations or reduce production for a time). Business interruption insurance can provide funds to offset lost profits or to pay continuing expenses (typically for up to a year for insured losses).
3. Casualty or liability protection (covering harm done by employees or products to other people or their property).
4. Crime insurance (covering loss of money or securities resulting from burglaries or robberies or destruction), as well as losses from employee theft or embezzlement.
5. Liability insurance covering lawsuits arising from accidents (as when someone trips and falls on your business's property), or when you sell a product that damages the customer's property or you are accused of offenses such as slander, copyright or invasion of privacy.
6. Vehicle coverage for rented or borrowed vehicles.

 
The main BOP gaps

Business income protection in a BOP is reasonably extensive for loss of income after an event such as a fire, as the policyholder is fully covered for the period it is closed during restoration, for up to 12 months. However, there are five main gaps in a BOP: 

Payroll protection • A BOP policy will only cover payroll of "ordinary" employees for 60 days, unlike a standard business income policy. Ordinary employees are all of your staff excluding officers, executives, department managers and contract employees, among others.
If you want to extend payroll coverage for your ordinary employees beyond that, you have to purchase an endorsement for the additional period you want. Payroll for non-ordinary employees, as listed above, is covered for the entire period of your business's restoration up to the 12-month maximum.

Restoration period • The period of restoration, during which the policy will cover your business income, is limited to 12 months, and that time can pass quickly when you consider everything that may need to be done to return your firm to "operational capability." It's at that point that business income loss coverage ceases.
Consider that if your business burns to the ground, you will need to draw up new building plans, obtain building permits and make sure your new building is up to code. You also have to factor in the time it will take to rebuild the structure. If all of this takes longer than 12 months, business income loss coverage ceases. The policy will not extend protection beyond this period.

By the way, "operational capability" for the purposes of business income means that the company is operating at or near pre-loss production or sales capacity. It does not mean bringing the business income back to pre-loss levels.

Extended business income • The BOP will pay for lost income for an additional 30 days after the firm has reopened for business. In many cases, this amount of time will not be enough to bring your business income back to the same level as before the incident. You can purchase a policy extension for this coverage.

Seasonal increase limitations • One of the benefits of a BOP is that it will cover loss of business income in periods of seasonal increases. The standard increase limit is 25% for business personal property. The typical limit for most small business purchases is $100,000, but that does not automatically mean that the policy will cover up to $125,000 during the business's peak months.

That's because BOPs state that the business personal property limit must equal 100% of the average monthly values on hand for the 12 months preceding the loss. In other words, it takes into account the seasonal increases from the year before.

Here's an example of how the seasonal increase limit may yield the claims payment short of expectations: Randy's Raft Rental, which carries $100,000 in coverage, experiences an uptick in business in June, July and August. While it enjoys revenues of $100,000 a month in the nine other months, during the peak period revenue jumps to $125,000 per month.
To qualify for receiving the seasonal increase to ensure it is covered for the full $125,000 during the peak season, policy limits would have to be increased to $106,250 (the sum of 9 months x $100,000 + 3 months x $125,000, divided by 12). If you are confused, we can explain.

Electrical damage/system breakdown

​Typical BOP policies specifically exclude losses caused by systems breakdowns, or damage from electrical or steam boiler problems. If you want this coverage, you can pick up the "Equipment Breakdown Protection Coverage" endorsement.

Paid sick leave

Employees are entitled to two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick time for coronavirus-related issues. Eligible workers will receive their regular pay, up to $511 per day and $5,110 total. Those caring for someone subject to quarantine due to COVID-19, and parents of kids who can't go to school or daycare, will receive two-thirds of their regular pay, up to $200 daily with a $2,000 cap.

The emergency sick leave benefit can be used immediately, regardless of how long the worker has been employed with you. It can be used when they cannot work or telecommute for any one of the following reasons:

• The employee is subject to a government quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
• The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19;
• The employee has symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
• The employee is caring for an individual subject to quarantine due to COVID-19;
• The employee needs to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable due to coronavirus.

 
The law does not require certification of an order by the government or a health care provider. But employers can require reasonable notice procedures, such as not announcing in the middle of a shift that they take COVID-19 sick leave. But they cannot require the employee to find a replacement worker to cover the shifts they will miss. Employers must post the law's requirements "in conspicuous places."

Employers are not allowed to discipline a worker who takes this sick or FMLA leave for coronavirus purposes and, if an employer refuses to provide the leave, they can be ordered to pay both back pay and statutory damages that are equal to the back pay the employee is owed.

This law provides payroll tax credits to offset all costs of providing these paid leaves.
 
FMLA

The FMLA portion of the law provides for 10 additional weeks of FMLA leave, but only for those who must stay at home to care for a child whose school is closed or their childcare provider is unavailable due to COVID-19-related issues.
These 10 weeks will be paid at two-thirds the employee's regular rate of pay, up to $200 per day with a cap of $10,000. They will also receive 12 weeks of leave with job protection, though employers of health care or emergency care providers can exclude such employees.

The employee would likely use up their two weeks of paid sick leave before applying for FMLA benefits, which unlike traditional FMLA (which is unpaid), are paid leaves after the first 10 days under the new law. 

Employees who have been working for more than 30 days are eligible, and the employer can require them to provide reasonable notice that they are taking leave.
 
A final word

This law only applies to employers with fewer than 500 workers, so it leaves uncovered those people who work for larger companies.

Also, employers need to make financial plans, as the credit cannot be claimed until after the employer pays their payroll taxes.

A bigger issue is that the law requires that workers be paid the sick leave even if they are not sick, but have been ordered to self-isolate. In states that have ordered workers to self-isolate, such as California, employers could be faced with an avalanche of paid sick leave claims all at once.

This law sunsets on Dec. 31, 2020.