Is Your Jewelry Insurance Enough?

Jewelry insurance comes in a number of different forms, so for specific and accurate advice on cover you need to consult an insurance agent. It’s a good idea however, to have some knowledge of jewelry insurance to give you an idea how it works and what questions to ask. Find out the information you need before insuring, as oppose to after making a claim.

An understanding of insurance for jewelry starts with learning how unscheduled and scheduled property differ.

Unscheduled property (jewelry isn’t listed specifically) is frequently included with basic home owners or renters policies. An appraisal isn’t normally needed for this type of cover, but keeping receipts and photographs can help as evidence of ownership and of value.

Scheduled property (jewelry specifically listed) is included in a floater, rider or endorsement to homeowner or renter’s policies. Jewelry insurance is also available with a separate policy, from a company specializing in jewelry insurance. For scheduled property, the insurance appraisal is vital because it describes the jewelry item and provides the “insured value” that is used in determining the premium you will pay to insure the item each year. Most scheduled property policies do not have an automatic appreciation adjustment as is common for the house and other unscheduled property. Therefore, even if it might cost 50% more to replace an item in five years, the “insured value” is still only that stated in the appraisal.

If you file an insurance claim, the settlement process and amount paid will depend on the policy and in particular, if the policy allows replacement or agreed value settlement. For agreed value policies, the settlement amount is stated in the policy whereas replacement value allows the insurance company to replace your jewelry or make a cash settlement based on the insurance company’s cost to replace your item. The insurance company’s liability ceiling is set at the “insured value” on the appraisal.

Is your jewelry insurance sufficient? The answer to this question depends on the type of policy you’ve got. If you’ve got an item of jewelry valued more than around $1500, it is worth thinking about getting scheduled coverage.

The most important issue for scheduled property insurance cover is the accuracy of information which is on the appraisal.

If the information on the appraisal is vague and general, the insurance company can replace the item with an item that satisfies the description but perhaps is not the quality and true value of the lost item. Be sure your jewelry appraisal has a detailed and accurate description of the jewelry item.

If the appraisal value is too high, you might not be covered for that amount. This could be the case if you paid too much for the item at a jewelry store, and they provided an insurance appraisal which was too high. The appraisal value doesn’t need to be higher than 1.5 times the price of the item at an inexpensive online retailer.

If the appraisal value is lower than it should be, the insurance company might make a settlement that doesn’t cover the cost of replacing the item. This could happen if it was bought a few years ago at a low price. It doesn’t take long for appraisals to be outdated, so they should be updated every few years.

Sarah Carter’s site has a lot more articles about jewelry, including metals and stones for wedding rings and also wedding ring sets.

categories: jewelry insurance cover,insurance for jewelry,insurance,jewelry,fashion

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