$300,000 theft of Pokémon cards, toys and more proves your insurance may not cover what your collection is really worth

The haul reportedly included Pokémon cards, vintage clothing, toys and jewelry. The victim or victims have not been publicly identified, and the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been reported.

The burglary also brings up a less exciting question for anyone with a valuable collection, primarily: What happens if it gets stolen?

Someone who has spent years buying and trading Pokémon cards may have a pretty good idea of what the collection is worth. But your insurance policy may see things differently.

Your collection may have a coverage limit

In this specific case, we don’t know what kind of insurance the victims had or whether their policy will cover the full value of what was stolen. So there’s no way to know yet how much of that reported $300,000 loss might be covered.

A standard homeowners or renters policy can cover personal belongings, including items kept in a storage unit, but there can be limits on how much the insurer will pay for certain valuables.

Collectibles can have separate limits, so having $50,000 or more in personal property coverage doesn’t necessarily mean a $50,000 Pokémon collection would be fully covered if it were stolen.

The Insurance Information Institute recommends checking the limits on valuable items such as collectibles and considering additional coverage if the standard policy isn’t enough.

That can be particularly important for Pokémon cards because the value of individual cards can vary dramatically. A card that cost relatively little when it was purchased can be worth thousands of dollars later, depending on its rarity, condition and grading.

And if the card has gone up a lot in value, the price on the original receipt may not tell the whole story.

A storage unit doesn’t mean your collection isn’t covered

Putting a collection in a storage unit doesn’t necessarily take it out of your homeowners or renters policy.

Personal belongings kept in a storage facility may still be covered under a homeowners policy, although coverage for property away from the home can have its own limits and conditions.

If you’re storing the most valuable things you own, though, those limits matter.

Collectors can also ask their insurer about adding coverage specifically for valuable items. Depending on the policy, this can provide higher limits for collectibles than the standard personal-property coverage.