Starting the New Year can sometimes mean that we reevaluate something's and see what we can do better or what we need to change. Being in the jewelry industry we thought we would help by talking about one of those hard questions about 'whether or not to insure your jewelry?' Sometimes it might be one of those things that you never think about until you need it, well let's fix that and talk about it right now.
Let's say you come home from a fun family vacation only to find out that you have been robbed. This is a nightmare in every account, but let's talk about it affection your jewelry. So now your engagement ring (because you don't like to travel with it), your husband's collection of watches, the earrings that are a family heirloom, and your whole collection of jewelry is gone. All of this is just gone, because there was no insurance on it.
Should you insure your jewelry? What it boils down to is: value of the item, is the item sentimental/family heirloom, do you have an attachment to the item. You might have some more to add, like maybe it is a collectible or there could be a lot of factors to weight. Insurance is something that can often give piece of mind so you are not risking if the item gets damaged or stole that it is completely gone.
Do you already have your jewelry insured? If you have a home owner's policy (or renter's) call and check to see if they cover anything and how detailed it is. Often they will have unscheduled personal property, but you could be under-insured. If you have scheduled jewelry insurance that means that you have every item listed separately and they are not lumped together. You need to weigh your options of value of item, price value or emotional value, to whether or not you want to insure the jewelry. It is very important to remember to ask your insurance company the details of your coverage, like are your pieces insured for replacement value? Find out if something happens do they replace it and what they define as replacement. Make sure you have enough coverage so that if something were to happen you would be satisfied with the results.
If you do not have insurance on your jewelry, call and talk to an insurance company (talk to a few) and get quotes and ask what they require. A couple of things that you will probably need: original receipt, certificates, an appraisal, and pictures. Now if you are looking to insure that family heirloom piece you might not have a receipt, but you can use an appraisal instead. If it is a jewelry piece that you have purchased yourself, call the store where you bought it from and ask if they can give you your receipt or a jewelry evaluation for insurance purposes. As for the certificate, not all jewelry pieces will have one, often it is just for diamonds or larger gemstones. Whether or not your insurer would like pictures it is probably best to keep pictures for your own records as well.
If you decide to insure your jewelry make sure to find out all of the details of it. What kind of loss is covered; theft or damaged and what about while traveling? Are items individual or bundled together? How are you compensated? If they replace the item do you have to use their preferred jeweler? Is the item insured for original value or current day value? How do you make a claim and what does the process involve? Are there any steps you can take to lower premiums? These are just some of the questions that you might want to find out the answers to before getting a policy.
So now with a little more information, hopefully you will be able to make a decision on whether or not to get jewelry insurance.
