Jewelry Insurance

A home is one of the most valuable assets a person can own. To protect this significant investment, an owner usually has homeowners insurance. However, many homes have equally valuable contents inside—such as jewelry—that often aren’t covered by insurance.

These precious assets may be family heirlooms, wedding rings, personal pieces or even loose stones. You want to protect these valuable items, and a personalized jewelry insurance policy can do just that.

What Is Jewelry Insurance?
Jewelry insurance allows you to insure jewelry of any shape and size, including wedding and engagement sets, rings and earrings, necklaces, bracelets and pendants, smart jewelry (e.g., watches) and loose stones. In most cases, you can insure multiple pieces under the same jewelry policy, so you don’t need to manage various policies.

A jewelry policy insures your jewelry against losses from fire, theft or other household accidents. Jewelry insurance may also include coverage for needed repairs and even preventive maintenance so that you can repair jewelry before any damage becomes severe.

Jewelry insurance usually covers the total replacement cost of the items in question. Therefore, you won’t face any depreciation factor that could reduce your overall settlement in the case of a loss.

Is a Jewelry Policy Affordable?
Most jewelry policies are affordable, although the number of insured items and their values can influence the premium. Generally, the higher the policy limits and the more valuable the items insured, the higher the premium.
gold jewelry in a jewelry box

Jewelry is often not directly replaceable, such as with antique pieces. Be sure to discuss appreciation and replacement rules when considering an insurance policy for your jewelry items.

It helps to have your jewelry appraised before you insure it. An appraisal will give you the exact value of the jewelry so that you purchase the right amount of coverage.

Will Homeowners Insurance Provide Adequate Jewelry Coverage?
A standard homeowners insurance policy typically falls short of fully covering high-value jewelry. There are three ways to get jewelry coverage, and they include:

Basic homeowners insurance—A standard homeowners insurance policy covers jewelry, including losses caused by fire, a tornado, theft or vandalism. However, the typical policy has a $1,500 limit for the theft of jewelry, watches, precious and semiprecious stones. You can increase your home insurance coverage limits, but those dollar amounts may still be insufficient.
Insurance floater—You can supplement your homeowners coverage with a “personal articles floater.” This insurance floater covers jewelry that exceeds the coverage limits of your homeowners policy. This floater usually covers items no matter where they are—in your home, on a plane or in a hotel room while on vacation.
Stand-alone policy—A stand-alone jewelry policy goes beyond a floater by covering incidents that traditional insurance might not cover, such as a chipped stone in a ring or a broken clasp on a necklace. You can buy a stand-alone jewelry insurance policy from an insurer specializing in jewelry policies. A stand-alone jewelry insurance policy also keeps any claims off your homeowners insurance. As a result, any future home insurance rates won’t be affected.

What Questions Should I Ask When Obtaining Insurance?
When you are looking for the best jewelry insurance policy, you should keep these questions in mind to ask your insurance agent:

How are claims handled? Will I need to purchase a replacement and then request my reimbursement, or will you send a check first?
Is my item’s total replacement cost covered? How is that amount determined?
How does the appraisal process work? Do I need to get my jewelry appraised or does your company send out an appraiser?

Do coverage limits vary depending on the price of precious metals or gems?
How often should I submit updated appraisals?
What proof of loss or damage will you require?
Does my policy have any exclusions? What types of loss and damage are not covered?

Tips To Protect Your Jewelry
A few tips can help ensure that your jewelry remains safely protected:

Take photos of your jewelry. Keep photos, purchase receipts and your appraisal paperwork locked away in a safe place.
Store valuable jewelry in a secure place. Keep the jewelry you don’t regularly wear in either a safe deposit box or in a heavy at-home safe that’s bolted to the floor and kept out of sight.
Bring what you plan to wear. Bring only the jewelry you plan to wear when traveling. Go ahead and bring inexpensive costume jewelry that you don’t mind if it’s damaged or lost.

What Should I Do Next?
At Hill & Stone Insurance Agency, you can get the personalized jewelry coverage you need. Call us at 847-295-3030 to arrange for your jewelry quote today.

Jewelry Insurance

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