Insurance valuation for premium-figure collections
To value a premium-figure collection for insurance, aggregate trailing-12-month sold prices for each SKU from public marketplaces (eBay, Mercari, Yahoo Auctions Japan, Goofish), segment by region and sealed-vs-loose condition, and apply a ≥6-transaction sample-size guard before quoting a number. SKUs below the guard label as “thin market — listings only” rather than producing a fragile single-comp valuation. The result is a defensible replacement-cost figure per item in the insurer's jurisdiction. Hoarden's per-item insurance replacement cost surfaces on every catalog page that hits the threshold once sold-listing ingestion is live in Week 7 of the Phase-1 build.
Methodology
- Trailing-12-month sold-price aggregation. Hoarden ingests sold-comp data from eBay (Marketplace Insights API), Mercari, Yahoo Auctions Japan, and Goofish per docs/technical-plan.md §6. Per SKU, the rolling 12-month window is recomputed daily.
- Region-segmented. EU, US, and Asia splits per region of the listing's shipping origin. The Hoarden price-history view renders the three regions side-by-side; the insurance-valuation view picks the region matching the insurer's jurisdiction.
- Sealed-vs-loose split. Per-transaction observed state (sealed, loose, or unknown). Sealed and loose units of the same SKU often replace at 20-40% different prices; conflating them gives the insurer a wrong number. Where the listing is ambiguous, the row is excluded.
- Sample-size guard: ≥6 sold transactions in the rolling 12 months. Below the threshold, the SKU labels as “thin market — listings only.” A single-comp valuation is more dangerous than no valuation; this rule is the Hoarden price-guide product's structural lesson from the StatueHQ post-mortem (see docs/business-plan.md §16).
- Output: replacement cost in the insurer's currency. Median of the sealed (or loose) trailing-12-month distribution in the insurer's region. Standard error and sample size surfaced alongside so the insurer can audit the methodology.
Worked example
No data yet. Hoarden's sold-listing ingestion pipeline lights up in Week 7 of the Phase 1 build per docs/build-plan.md. The methodology section above documents the formula; the worked example with real Hot Toys Jinx / Infinity Studio Vi numbers populates here once the pipeline is producing 12 months of clean sold-comp data per SKU.
In the meantime, the per-item Quick Facts on each catalog page (e.g. /items) reserves a row for “Insurance replacement cost” that renders null in Phase 1 and populates against ingested data starting Week 7.
How insurers actually treat collectibles
Two policy archetypes matter for collectibles:
- Replacement-cost policies (most common in EU homeowners coverage) pay the cost to acquire an equivalent unit on the secondary market. This is what trailing-12-month sold-comp aggregation produces directly.
- Agreed-value policies (more common in specialty collectibles riders, especially in the US) pay a pre-negotiated value regardless of current market. Useful when the SKU is below the 6-transaction sample-size threshold or when secondary markets are illiquid. Requires the insurer to accept your valuation upfront — Hoarden's methodology and per-SKU data give you the documentation to support agreed-value scheduling.
For collections crossing the schedule-of-property threshold (commonly €5,000-€10,000 in the EU, $5,000-$10,000 in the US), most insurers require items to be listed individually with documented values. The catalog export feature (Phase 1 backup hygiene per docs/technical-plan.md §11a) produces a JSON dump of the relevant subset that can be reformatted as a schedule-of-property attachment.
Common questions about insurance valuation
Do I need a professional appraisal to insure a premium-figure collection?
For total-collection value under most homeowners-policy schedule-of-property thresholds (commonly €5,000-€10,000 in the EU), a documented valuation using trailing-12-month sold-price data is typically accepted. For higher-value collections or named-item scheduling, insurers usually require a professional appraisal — but the trailing-12-month methodology Hoarden uses is the same methodology professional appraisers apply to public-comp markets. Check your insurer's specific schedule-of-property requirements.
What counts as proof of value for a collectible figure?
Three components together: (1) a sold-comp data point or aggregate from a public marketplace within the last 12 months, (2) condition documentation (sealed vs loose, edition number, original packaging photographs), and (3) provenance — purchase receipt, pre-shipment photos from the seller, or named-retailer provenance. Hoarden surfaces (1) and the provenance side of (3); (2) is your photo workflow.
Why do insurers care about sealed vs loose state?
Sealed and loose units of the same SKU replace at materially different prices — frequently 20-40% gaps for premium statues. An insurer paying replacement cost wants the right number, not an average. The Hoarden price-guide pages render region + sealed/loose splits per SKU once the 6-sales/12-month sample-size threshold is met.
Why does region matter for valuation?
EU, US, and Asia secondary markets for the same SKU often trade at materially different prices — typically EU and US within 10-15% of each other, Asia (especially Japan via Yahoo Auctions and China via Goofish) sometimes 30%+ lower or higher depending on the SKU. The right replacement-cost figure is the one matching the insurer's jurisdiction.
Do insurers accept Hoarden price-guide data as proof of value?
Hoarden cannot speak for any specific insurer's documentation requirements. The methodology (trailing-12-month sold-comp aggregation with region and condition splits, ≥6-transaction sample-size guard) follows standard appraisal practice for public-comp markets. Many EU homeowners insurers accept similar collectible-market data from established aggregators; ask your specific insurer before relying on it for a high-value schedule.
Why does the worked example below say 'no data yet'?
Hoarden's sold-listing ingestion pipeline goes live in Week 7 of the Phase-1 build per docs/build-plan.md. Until then, the methodology and reference framework are documented here, but per-item insurance_replacement_cost values populate against live data once the pipeline begins. The empty state is honest — Hoarden never makes claims the data can't back, per the price-guide product's non-negotiable threshold rule.
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Related
- Where to buy League of Legends collectibles safely — the trusted-seller directory; provenance documentation starts here.
- The Hoarden Buyer Promise — pre-shipment photos on items over €100 produce part of the provenance evidence chain insurers expect.