Did you get something expensive for the holidays or for Valentine’s Day?
If you received jewelry for the holiday or Valentine’s Day, it is important to give your insurance agent a call. This will ensure that your new valuables are properly covered, with the correct jewelry insurance policy.
The best time to call your insurance agent is when you buy an expensive gift for your significant other. Most people don’t think about adding the jewelry to the insurance until after it is gifted; but a lot can happen between the time you buy the piece and the time you give it as a gift.
When you purchase the piece of jewelry, call your agent’s office to schedule it on your home insurance policy. You will have the receipt and appraisal in your hand, so before the paperwork gets shuffled, scan the appraisal into your phone and send it over to your agent.
What are you risking by not having a jewelry insurance policy?
Most of us believe that jewelry is just like any other property you own, and it is insured on your homeowners insurance policy. That’s correct, but only to a certain extent.
The standard homeowners insurance policy puts a sub-limit on the value of jewelry for peril or theft. This limit is usually $1500. It doesn’t take a lot to get to a value of $1500 in jewelry these days; the value of gold is about $1900 per ounce. So, if you have a simple 18K gold wedding band, it will easily exceed the $1500 limit on your policy.
When you schedule your jewelry on your home insurance policy or purchase a separate jewelry insurance policy, you can insure your jewelry for its replacement cost, up to the agreed insured value. Once the piece is scheduled, it would not be subject to the sub-limit on the home insurance policy.
When you have your jewelry insured on the proper policy, it adds a peril called mysterious disappearance. Sometimes, earrings or necklaces go missing without knowing where or how they went missing.
A mysterious disappearance could be any of the following:
- An earring falls out somewhere in your travels
- A necklace gets left behind in a hotel room and goes missing
- A ring falls off while you are swimming in the ocean
- You look at your ring one and notice a stone missing
You would be out of luck with no coverage with most standard unendorsed homeowners insurance policies. When you add your jewelry, it will add these valuable insurance coverages.
Top reasons why people don’t buy jewelry insurance
- They don’t think it is necessary: Jewelry Insurance is often viewed as an extra and unnecessary expense by some people, which can prevent them from adding their jewelry on their insurance policy when they buy it. They also incorrectly assume that jewelry is adequately covered on the homeowners policy.
- They are unaware of the coverage it provides: Some of us 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. Which in turn can lead us to not purchase jewelry insurance at all as we don’t think we need it.
- They worry about out-of-pocket expenses with jewelry insurance policies: Many people fear the purchasing jewelry insurance will them having to pay extra out-of-pocket expenses, either up front or if something were ever to happen with their jewelry.
- 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, but it is not expensive, give us a call to ask for a quote.
What is needed to schedule your jewelry?
- A recent appraisal and/or receipt of purchase: Insurance companies will want to see proof of the value of the item. If it was recently purchased, a receipt should be sufficient. In the absence of a receipt or if the item was purchased 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 five years or so.
- Detailed description of the item: This will be found on the appraisal.
- Photo of the item: This should also be part of the appraisal.
Call R.C. Keller & Company Today!
Don’t get a broken heart by not having your jewelry insured correctly. Your gift is precious, and should something happen to it, you want to make sure it is properly insured. Your heart will be broken if something happens. Make sure you won’t have a broken wallet to go along with it.
If you have any questions on whether to insure your jewelry or not, please give us a call at 847-907-4520. Once of our experienced agent will be happy to talk to you. We have been protecting our clients since 1910.