Using values for insurance
Practical guidance on whether and how the values shown in your binder belong on an insurance schedule. We’re not your lawyer or your insurance broker; this is the engineering team being straight with you.
The honest answer
The Insurance Schedule we generate is a reference document that summarizes your collection and the values we currently display in your binder. It is not a certified appraisal and CardboardChasr is not a licensed appraiser, insurance broker, or insurance agent.
Most insurers will accept it for low-value tracking purposes (e.g., a homeowner’s policy line item for the collection in aggregate), but will require a professional appraisal for individual scheduled items above their stated threshold.
If you’re scheduling individual high-value cards on a collectibles rider, get a real appraisal. The schedule we generate is not a substitute and we don’t pretend otherwise.
What our values are
The schedule shows two kinds of value, indicated on every row:
- Comp — the median of the lowest five active eBay listings for that card, refreshed by our nightly job. Active asks run higher than sold prices, so this is a market floor estimate, not a transaction average. See Value tracking for the full formula.
- Owner (marked *) — a value you set yourself on the card’s detail page. Maybe you bought it from a Heritage auction, you have a recent appraisal, or the comp is just wrong. Whatever your reason, owner values override the auto-comp on every binder surface, including the schedule.
Each row on the schedule shows the source and the date that source was last touched, so a broker can tell at a glance how fresh the number is.
What our values aren’t
- Not a certified appraisal. Real appraisals are signed documents from a credentialed appraiser (USPAP-compliant in the US, IVS in Europe). We’re an automated tool reading public market data.
- Not guaranteed. Comps go stale, sources can be wrong, and owner-set values are unverified by us. The schedule itself carries an explicit disclaimer to this effect.
- Not sold-comp data. eBay’s public Browse API only exposes active listings. Sold-comp data lives behind a separate API gate we don’t currently have. Active asks typically run 10–25% higher than sold prices.
- Not investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Use the schedule as a snapshot of your collection’s estimated market value at a moment in time. For anything that affects money or coverage, talk to a professional.
When you need a real appraisal
Insurer thresholds for requiring a professional appraisal on a scheduled-item rider vary, but rough industry norms:
| Per-item value | Typical insurer posture |
|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | Often covered under a homeowner’s policy without scheduling. The CardboardChasr schedule is sufficient as a record-keeping document. |
| $1,000–$5,000 | Usually schedulable. Some insurers accept itemized records like ours; others require a written appraisal or recent receipt. Ask your broker. |
| $5,000–$10,000 | Many insurers require a current professional appraisal for individual items above this band. |
| Above $10,000 | Almost always requires a credentialed appraisal, often updated every 1–3 years. Some carriers require photos, cert verification, and provenance documentation. |
These bands are general industry norms and not specific policy terms. Your insurer’s requirements take precedence.
Recommended path for high-value collections
- Talk to your existing insurer first. A homeowner’s or renter’s policy often has a limited collectibles sublimit. You may need a separate rider or a specialty policy.
- Look at specialty carriers for collectibles. Common names: Chubb Masterpiece, Collectibles Insurance Services (CIS), AXA, PURE. Each has different scheduling thresholds and documentation requirements.
- Get a written appraisal for any item over the insurer’s threshold. Reputable appraisal sources: PSA Appraisals, Beckett Authentication, Heritage Auctions condition reports, or a local USPAP-credentialed personal property appraiser.
- Use the CardboardChasr schedule as a supplement, not a substitute. It’s a useful aggregate inventory document, useful for the underwriter to see scope, sport mix, and graded vs raw composition. The professional appraisal is what binds coverage on individual items.
Disclaimer
Not an appraisal. Values shown by CardboardChasr (in the binder, on the insurance schedule, or anywhere else in the product) are estimates derived from public market data or owner-asserted figures. They are not certified appraisals.
No warranty. CardboardChasr makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or suitability of any value, source, or date shown. Values may be stale, missing, or inaccurate.
Limitation of liability. Use of CardboardChasr values or the Insurance Schedule for insurance underwriting, claim filing, financial planning, tax reporting, legal proceedings, business, or any other decision-making is solely at the user’s own risk. CardboardChasr disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, denied claim, coverage shortfall, tax assessment, or other harm arising from reliance on values shown by the product.
CardboardChasr is not a licensed appraiser, insurance broker, insurance agent, financial advisor, or attorney. For questions about insurance coverage or claims, consult a qualified, licensed professional.