Jewelry Insurance for your Valentine’s Day Gifts
Did you get something shiny and expensive for the holidays or for Valentine’s Day?
If you received jewelry for the holidays or Valentine’s Day, it’s important to call your insurance agent right away. This will ensure that your new valuables are properly covered. Doing so will give you peace of mind knowing that if anything were to happen to your new pieces, they would be properly insured with the right jewelry insurance policy.
The best time to call your insurance agent is when you buy the expensive give for your significant other. Most people do not think about adding the jewelry to the insurance intil after it is gifted. But a lot can happen between the time you buy the jewelry and the time you gift it.
I bought a nice set of earrings for Nancy a few years ago. I called into our office to schedule them on our home insurance policy while I was still in the store. It is a great time to add the jewelry because you have the receipt and probably an appraisal from the store right in your hands. So, before the paperwork gets shuffled away in your home filing system, why not scan them into your phone and shot them over to your insurance agent?
What are you risking by not having a jewelry insurance policy or schedule?
Most people assume that jewelry is just like any other property you own and is insured on your homeowners insurance policy. That is correct, to an certain degree.
The standard homeowners insurance policy pits a sublimit on the value of jewelry for the peril of theft. This sublimit is usually $1500. Iit does not take a lot to get to a value of $1500 in jewelry these days, The value of gold is about $1800 per ounce these days. So a simple 18K gold wedding band could easily exceed the $1500 limit.
When you schedule your jewelry on your homeowners insurance or purchase a separate jewelry insurance policy, you can insure your jewelry for its replacement cost, up to the agreed insured value. This would not be subject to the special sub limit in the home insurance policy.
Having the jewelry insured on the proper policy also adds a peril called mysterious disappearance. Sometimes, earrings, rings and necklaces go missing without knowing where or how they went missing.
Mysterious Disappearance could be any of the following:
- An earring falls out somewhere in your travels
- A necklace gets left in a hotel room and goes missing
- A ring that comes off while swimming in the ocean
- You look down at your ring one day and see a missing stone
- Etc.
You would simply be out of luck with no coverage with most standard unendorsed homeowners insurance policies. Scheduling your jewelry can add these valuable insurance coverages.
Top reasons why people do not buy jewelry insurance
- They don’t think it’s necessary: Jewelry Insurance is often viewed as an extra and unnecessary expense by some people, which can prevent them from scheduling their jewelry on their insurance when they buy it. And they incorrectly assume that the jewelry is adequately coverage on their homeowners insurance policy.
- They are unaware of the coverage it provided: Some people may not be aware that jewelry insurance typically pays for missing jewelry. Like providing reimbursement up to the policy limit of its appraised value before the event took place. Or what other coverage options are available. This can lead them to not purchase jewelry insurance at all as they don’t think they need it.
- They feel it is too expensive: Some people may view jewelry insurance as too costly compared to the amount of money they spent on their jewelry item. This them reluctant to purchase Jewelry Insurance in the first place. jewelry insurance is not expensive. Give us a call to ask.
- They worry about out-of-pocket expenses with jewelry insurance policies: Many people fear that purchasing Jewelry insurance will leave them having to pay extra out-of-pocket expenses. Either up front or if something were ever to happen with their jewelry.
What will you need to schedule your jewelry?
- Recent appraisal and/or receipts of purchase – The insurance company will want to see proof of the value of the item. If recently purchased, a purchase receipt could be sufficient. In the absence of a receipt, or if the item was purchases several years ago, a recent appraisal will work. With the values of metals and jewels rising, it is always a great idea to have appraisals done once every 5 years or so.
- Detailed description of the item – This should be found in the appraisal
- Photos of the item – This should also be part of the appraisal
Don’t get a broken heart by not having your jewelry insured correctly
Your gift is precious and special. Should something happen to your special gift, you want to make sure it is properly insured. Your heart will be broken if something happened. So make sure you won’t have a broken wallet to go along with it.
Call Huff Insurance Today
If you have any questions on whether insure your jewelry or not, please give us a call at 410-647-1111. One of our experienced agents will be happy to talk to you.
We have been protecting our clients valuables since 1960!