How to insure Pokémon cards in 2026 — what insurers actually ask for
The short version: your homeowners policy probably covers a few hundred dollars of your collection at best; specialty collectibles insurance is cheap and built for this; and the thing every insurer asks YOU to produce is a detailed, self-maintained inventory with values. No professional appraisal needed for most collections. Here's the documentation side, done properly.
Why your homeowners policy isn't enough
Standard homeowners and renters policies treat trading cards as ordinary personal property, often with special sub-limits for collectibles in the $200–$1,500 range — a single modern chase card can be worth more. Theft away from home, flood, and "mysterious disappearance" are commonly excluded. That's why collectors with four-, five- and six-figure binders end up at specialty insurers (Collectibles Insurance Services, American Collectors, and at the high end Chubb's valuable-articles coverage) or add a personal articles floater to a mainstream policy.
What the specialty insurers require from you
Less than most collectors expect — and more than most collectors have written down:
Collectibles Insurance Services (CIS) states in its FAQ that a schedule or appraisal is not required for most items, but that "you are responsible for maintaining your own inventory" — and that at claim time, acceptable proof of ownership includes photos with an inventory list, transaction records, or an appraisal. Items or sets above $25,000 get scheduled individually. They also recommend keeping a copy of your inventory in a secure, secondary location.
American Collectors Insurance asks for "a detailed inventory of your items, including their estimated value" when you get a quote, and schedules items around $2,000 and up individually. Underwriters work from pricing guides and marketplace values, not appraisals.
Chubb only requires formal appraisals for individual items valued at $100,000+; below that, a detailed description and estimated value suffices.
So the working documentation standard, across the industry, is: an itemized, dated inventory with per-item values, plus photos. Not an appraisal.
The problem: your collection app won't produce that document
If you track your collection in Collectr, the TCGplayer app, TCG Collector or a similar tracker, you already have the raw data — but the apps show a portfolio total on screen and stop. None of them outputs a dated, itemized schedule formatted for an insurer, with values, thresholds and the photo checklist that completes the file. Collectr's raw CSV export is itself gated behind its Pro subscription.
That's the gap Schedule Sheet for Card Collections fills: drop in the export your app already produces (or any spreadsheet), and it builds the document — per-item values (from your export, or matched against a dated TCGplayer market-price snapshot for TCGplayer-app exports), per-set subtotals, every item at or above $2,000 flagged for individual scheduling, and a photo-evidence checklist. It runs entirely in your browser: a list of your most valuable possessions never touches anyone's server. The totals are free on screen; the printable schedule and CSV are a one-time $9.
The five-step documentation routine
1. Export your collection from whatever app you use (or keep a
spreadsheet).
2. Generate the dated, valued schedule — takes about a
minute.
3. Photograph binder pages, boxes and slabs; individually photograph anything
flagged at $2,000+. Keep cert numbers with the schedule.
4. Store a copy of the schedule + photos off-site (any cloud drive counts —
the flood that takes your binders takes your desktop too).
5. Re-run it quarterly, or after any major pull or purchase. Values move;
a stale inventory under-insures you.
Frequently asked
Do I need a professional appraisal? For most card collections, no — see the insurer language above. Appraisals enter the picture for individual items in six-figure territory, or when a specific insurer requests one. (This tool produces an inventory, not an appraisal.)
What values should I use? Current marketplace values with a stated date and source. TCGplayer market price is the de-facto reference for English-language Pokémon cards; your schedule should say what the values are and when they were taken — which this tool prints on every page.
Graded cards? List the grade, grading company and cert number per item. Graded market values differ from raw; if your tracking app records a graded value, export it and the schedule will use your app's value for that item.
Does this apply outside the US? The documentation logic is the same in the UK, Canada, Australia and the EU — itemized inventory, values with a date, photos, off-site copy — though insurers and thresholds differ.