[fabsroman]

Skeet,

I carry insurance on the things I cannot afford to lose (i.e., my house, my life, and my wife's life). Yeah, it will hurt to lose some or all of my guns, but I can still replace them, and with brand new guns instead of used ones. We all like to think that our guns will appreciate over time, but my Benelli has been beat up so much that I seriously doubt it. Granted, they will appreciate over time because the cost of living will increase, but the same thing will happen to the insurance premium.

By the way, I carry insurance on my car for three reasons:

1) Because it is mandatory in Maryland,
2) just in case my wife or I are at fault in an accident and somebody is really hurt we will not lose our house. However, neither of us have been at fault for an accident ever,
3) for the underinsured/uninsured coverage just in case some irresponsible uninsured/underinsured non-asset having driver hits my wife or me and is at fault, and somebody in our cars is injured.

I do not carry collision on my 1989 Mustang, my 1998 Taurus, or my wife's 2002 Hyundai Sonata because it just isn't worth it. I carry collision on my 2003 F-350, but might drop it in a year or two once the truck is worth around $20,000.

We also carry a separate rider on my wife's engagement and wedding rings, but not on her 1.5 carat earrings because we can afford the loss of the earrings.

To me, insurance is something that should be used if you cannot afford to lose something. My guns are worth more to me in sentimental value than they are in dollar value. So, instead of spending the money on insurance, I would rather spend it on better safes and better rooms.

Rocky,

The only reason I want the Browning safe over the Remington safe is because of the Duo door that allows me to store 10 guns on the door. I'd put the 10 most used shotguns on that door, with the most used rifles in the front portion of the safe. The worst thing about my dad's safe is having to move 10 guns out of the way to get to the gun I want in the back.

By the way, the delivery of my dad's safe was incredible. The delivery terms were that they would deliver it to the front door, which was fine. The first time they came to deliver it, they didn't have a lift on the truck. The second time, the guy dropped the safe off the back of the truck and it had to be returned to the manufacturer. The third time was the charm. After that, my dad, brothers, and I moved the safe indoors. It is an American Security safe and I like it plenty. I think it cost us $1,600 around 7 or 8 years ago.