Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU>
Many municipalities and other taxing bodies are "self-insured," which
is the reason why, for instance, when a policeman shoots somebody who
can prove in court that the officer is at fault, he can sue the
officer and the city and any damages awarded will be paid from city
coffers, and in big cases, it may involve special budgetary
allocations, but all it means is that the taxpayers pay the "insurance."
Other bodies may also be self-insured in similar ways, with the
"insurance compensation" coming out of operating funds.
Self-insurance actually is "no insurance." The accounting is made on
the total cost of commercial premiums against the odds of a certain
damage occurring, and very often "self-insurance" comes out as less
expensive according to the accounting, which is the reason why
catastrophe insurance coverages are often neglected by homeowners.
Jerry Blaz/mybookiejoint.com
At 11:15 AM 8/24/2007, you wrote:
That is not what self insurance is; there are no premiums with self
insurance, just investment savings dedicated to the purpose.
If you are actually insuring objects with an insurance company and
deliberately undervaluing them, the insurance company is not legally
obligated to pay a full payment on a loss. For example, if you have
a house actually worth $200,000, which you insure for $150,000, you
have only 75% of the proper insurance. Should you suffer a $100,000
loss, the insurance company need pay you only $75,000.
Gabriel Austin wrote:
There is a theory called self-insurance. If I understand it correctly, it
means treating the premiums as "pre-payments" for possible loss. I know of
several prominent collectors who follow this route. And certainly all large
libraries do.
I take the occasion to apologize to the list for having allowed myself to
express my irritation at pointless potshots from across the ocean. I shall
follow the suggestion of the pot-shotter and delete his messages before
reading. It's no more a problem than deleting the [alas] spurious
announcements that I have won several million euros. I get at least three a
day.
Gabriel Austin
-----Original Message-----
From: Rare book and manuscripts [mailto:EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU] On
Behalf Of Joan Friedman
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:07 AM
To: EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS-L] NY Auction Bidding Legislation
But replacement is the point of insurance. Why have insurance except to
make you whole after a loss? I can see there might be some argument for
not insuring books at all, on the theory that most could probably not be
readily replaced, but if you're going to insure, replacement is the only
value that makes any sense.
Gabriel Austin wrote:
Replacement value would likely have doubled the insurance premiums. Gordon
did 5% or 6% annually, to keep up with inflation.
The question of the extent to which books should be insured is a difficult
one. I know of a collector, many of whose books must be kept in a bank
vault
at the insistence of the insurance company because of their value. He then
he asks why he bothered to collect them.
Gabriel Austin
--
|((| Joan M. Friedman
|))| Urbana, Illinois
|))| 217.367.1509
Jerry Blaz mybookiejoint.com
Member of IOBA -- www.ioba.org A Mark of Online Trustworthiness
P.O.Box 572168
Tarzana, CA 91357 (818)345-2983
ffdog@earthlink.net info@mybookiejoint.com
Http://www.mybookiejoint.com
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
G. Marx