“My Stone Fell Out!”

An engagement ring is a valued and precious item. Other jewelry like a bracelet handed down through generations can be more valuable than money can make up for. Even a watch or necklace marking a special occasion can be irreplaceable.

Every reason why you treasure a piece of fine jewelry is a reason why it should be insured.

Your home, condo or renters policy may already have some coverage. But calling it engagement ring insurance may be a stretch. You don’t need a separate policy to insure your engagement ring or other precious items. You just need to ensure you have the right personal property coverage from your homeowners, condo, or renters insurance.

Engagement ring insurance and jewelry coverage helps protect your investment. It helps you replace them if you experience a loss that’s covered by your policy. But, the coverage is only for certain losses and set dollar amounts. Double check what coverage you have and learn more about Engagement ring insurance below.

Know What Your Existing Insurance Policy Covers

You may already have personal property coverage as part of a homeowners, renters, or condo policy. With limitations, you’re likely to already have some engagement ring insurance. However, what your policy provides may not be enough. It is your choice. Do you want to spend the extra money to cover the special items or not? The typical policy will cover you, up to your policy limit. That is for jewelry that’s stolen or damaged in certain incidents, such as a fire at your home. However, the typical policy will not cover everyday damage. What if the loss is  a stone falling out of its setting or mysterious disappearance?

Knowing when you’re covered and when you’re not is important. Also, it’s important to know how much you’re covered for. Your insurance policy may cover each individual piece of jewelry at a set limit. In this case, your item may have $1,000 limit per piece. Many home insurance policy may only cover 1 item or a total of all jewelry items up to $500. Or, it may cover your jewelry collection as a whole, such as $3,000 for all pieces. Check your policy or schedule a review with a local agent to better understand what kind of jewelry coverage you have.

Calculate the Value of Your Jewelry Collection in Today’s Dollars

To determine whether you have enough engagement ring insurance, find out how much it is worth. Keep in mind that your pieces may be worth more now than when you bought them. The value of precious metals and precious stones can increase over time, so have your pieces appraised about every three years. When jewelry is scheduled  the jewelry insurance coverage may require appraisals every 2 or 3 years. This is an added expense.

Use these appraisals, as well as receipts for recently purchased items, to add up the value of your collection. Then compare it to how much jewelry replacement coverage you have on your homeowners, condo or renters insurance.

Decide Which Items Require Additional Coverage

If the engagement ring insurance or jewelry insurance on your policy is lower than the value of your collection, you’ll likely want to purchase additional coverage. For example, you may have a $2,000 pair of diamond earrings, a $7,500 engagement ring and an insurance policy that covers jewelry loss – no matter how many pieces – at $3,000. If both pieces are lost in a single incident, you’re short $6,500 of coverage.

To fill this gap, you can insure high-value items individually, as part of your homeowners, condo or renters insurance. This is known as “scheduling valuables” or adding a “rider” or “endorsement” to your policy. To do so, you will likely need a recent receipt or appraisal establishing the value of each item. Scheduling jewelry and other valuable items will cost extra. Selecting the engagement ring insurance is your choice. It depends on how much you want to pay for the coverage you will be provided.

Once scheduled, if an item is damaged or lost in a covered incident, you’ll be covered for the full scheduled amount. Typically, scheduling an item also gives you broader coverage. A lost stone that isn’t covered under your homeowners policy, for example, is likely covered under a policy rider like scheduled jewelry.

Catalog Your Jewelry in a Home Inventory

Once you arrange for your high-value jewelry and/or engagement ring insurance, it’s important to create a home inventory. If you have a home inventory already, update one to catalog your valuable belongings. This isn’t as important for your scheduled pieces because your insurance company has a record of their value. However, for any unscheduled pieces that are lost or stolen, you’ll want a record of their worth.

Ideally, your home inventory will include photos, receipts, appraisals, descriptions, brand names, etc. of all valuable personal property, not just your jewelry. That way, if there’s a loss, you’ll already have the documentation needed for a personal property claim in place.

A home inventory can be as simple as a Word document (save it to the cloud or a flash drive in case your computer is damaged or stolen). Or use a Web program or mobile phone app, such as the home inventory app, to help you catalog your belongings.

Jewelry insurance coverage is easy and affordable, so talk to an agent or carrier. You may pay as little as $10 a year for each $1,000 of coverage. So, if you get something special for Valentine’s Day this year, in addition to flashing it to your friends, think about protecting it, too.

Spartanburg Area Jewelry Appraisals

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