Help me secure my firearms with a safe and insurance

[Eurodriver]

I rent, and currently have a pretty small place. I'll be moving into a house shortly. I would like a safe that isn't too obtrusive in my small place (I don't want the cable guy going "Wow, that guys got a big ass safe right there in the living room") and does more to secure my firearms than making me "feel" safe. I'd also prefer it not to be 4ftx4ft and 1,000 lbs since I'll be moving it soon and I don't have that many firearms anyway. I also know that no safe is 100% secure so I'd like to discuss insurance.

Specifically, I'm looking at:

* The Stack on 16 gun safe.

Link: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stack-On-...E-DS/203675964

* GEICO Renter's insurance.

Without getting into specifics, all of my firearms could easily fit in that safe. I don't care if they rest up against one another or anything.

What are my options? Does renter's insurance usually cover firearms? Up to how much? How do you "prove" that you actually owned the items in the event of a claim given that I don't have receipts for things like used Aimpoint T1s, AR15 Uppers, etc?

I could always call, but figured I'd get as much info from this thread as possible before letting a salesman talk me into something I don't need or want. I have car insurance through them and would get a discount. This all came about because I was going to drop some serious cash on new firearms and realized that a good team of crooks could probably wipe me out.

Help?

[SeriousStudent]

How many firearms do you have? How many are AR's with an optic mounted? Those usually count as "three guns" in safe-math.

That safe in the link might hold 16 Daisy BB guns, it sure won't hold 16 AR's. I have a spare safe like that, it holds 6 AR's.

On "proof", two things are helpful. A big fat stack of sales receipts stored offsite, and a video of you with a newspaper and then slowly capture the serial number of each firearm.

[zombiescometh]

Well just for example my state farm renters insurance for $113 a year includes $5000 towards firearms. And you can always pay more to get more coverage.

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

[mikejg]

Check with GEICO about whether or not the renter's insurance policy covers firearms. I have a renter's policy with USAA and it does not cover firearms. It's under "Valuable Personal Property" I think. I has to list each out and their worth, etc.

SS is right, video or pictures to document proof.

[Airhasz]

Scrap the stack on junk, buy one cry once. Wait till you can handle purchasing a real safe.

[William B.]

NRA memberships come with firearms insurance, too, so if you're a member you need to check that out. I think it's $2500 coverage for annual members and $5000 for life members. I'm not sure how that stacks up to the other types of insurance being discussed, though.

[Kokopelli]

Avoid homeowners or renters insurance for firearms. They're quite lame and you have to schedule (identify/appraise) things; typically over two items. Go with a collectors type insurance that insures against a dollar value that you set. You don't have to identify the items until you make a claim. This one is very popular with collectors.

http://www.collectinsure.com/

[JoshNC]

Even heavy safes can be moved with relative ease. Buy a high quality safe and bolt it down. Talk to some safe dealers and see what they have for used safes. Curt at CE Safes makes the rounds at all the South FL gunshows; you may want to talk to him. A used reconditioned fire rated composite TL30 or TL30x6 can be found pretty reasonably. Empire Safes in NY has a large selection of these.

Bolting it to the floor and having an alarm system with a seismic sensor in the safe will go a long way to keeping it secure.

As for insurance, I recommend Jack Richardson at Eastern Insurance in Massachusetts. He has several plans available through Chubb and Historic and his prices are great. Email me through the board if you want his contact info.

[bzdog]

Scrap the stack on junk, buy one cry once. Wait till you can handle purchasing a real safe.

Sturdysafe is a lot of bang for your buck IMO.

-john

[NoveskeFan]

I bought a Liberty 14 or 16 gun safe from Lowes for about the same price as that Stack-On. Mine has a dial lock, and holes in the bottom corners so you can bolt it down. It's been great, a little tight now-but only because I have several of my brothers firearms in it while he is deployed. I have about 8 rifles, 3 lowers, and several pistols in it at the moment.

EDIT: A plus is that you can bolt it down in most closets, so it's out of sight when company or whoever stops by.