By Laura Packard, vice president of sales andmarketing, American Collectors Insurance

Sports are a huge part of American culture. Not only do peopleplay and watch all levels of competition, they also love to collectthe equipment, event tickets, souvenirs and autographs of favoriteathletes. Sports collectibles and memorabilia are highly desirablecategories of collectibles.

With Sunday's Super Bowl XLVII match-up between the BaltimoreRavens and San Francisco 49ers, football memorabilia is getting alot of attention. For example, a board on Pinterest features some rarefootball collectibles that many sport memorabilia enthusiastswould love to add to their collection. American Collectors insuresyards of sports memorabilia among other valuable collectibles.

Click on the following pages to see a few prized footballcollectibles.

This autographed San Francisco 49ers WorldChampions football features the signatures of some of the NFL'sbiggest players: Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Dwight Clark, just toname a few. (photo: 100percentauthentic.com)

Independent agents and brokers play a key role in helpingcollectors protect what they love. While some collectors are savvyenough to realize their collections might need special insurancecoverage, many simply are unaware that homeowners insurance istypically inadequate from the perspectives of covered perils oramount of coverage. For instance, a flooded basement with a $10,000collection of sports memorabilia might lead to an outright claimdenial because flood is not a covered peril under a HO policy.

Way back in the late '90s, Terrell (“T.O.”) Owens was a staron the rise, hoping to replace aging Jerry Rice as the SanFrancisco 49ers “go-to” guy. He's now one of football's most-talkedabout wide receivers. Owen wore these size 14 cleats in his secondseason (1997); they still have red-end zone paint and soil caked tothe bottom. (Photo: 100percentauthentic.com)

Agents we work with tell us that they make it part of theirroutine to ask about collections in the household with everyhomeowners insurance sale. Not only does this protect the client,it shields the brokers from coverage shortfalls (and E&Oclaims) and creates an avenue for the broker to understand aclient's most important possessions. It's a way for agents tocreate a stronger bond with clients and better service their needs.

This seat cushion dates back to the first Super Bowl in 1967where the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.Definitely an interesting item to add to any footballcollection. (Photo: collectorsweekly.com)

Homeowners' insurance usually does not provide enough coverage,or the right coverage, for clients' treasured items. Collectiblesinsurance is a complement to other personal lines products. Itprotects the full collector value of a collection rather than theactual cash value. Take, for example, that wooden hockey stick that Mike Eruzione is selling: Its actualcash value is likely just a few cents, but its minimum initial bidat auction was $1 million. In the event of a total loss, someonewho owns something like that is going to want it be insured for arange of risks and at more than actual cash value. After all,collections inherently appreciate in value over time.

Rutgers grad Ray Rice has proven to be one of the bestrunning backs in the league and ranked as the Baltimore Raven'ssecond all-time leading rusher at the end of the 2011 season.(Photo: fansedge.com)

Collectors need to be protected from risks including accidentalbreakage, hurricane, flood, earthquake, fire, and theft. Anothercoverage featured in collectibles policies is protection forpackaging and accessories of collectibles, which often are anintegral part of the collectible and drive its value. Other optionscan help collectors who are actively growing, displaying in public,or occasionally using their collection.