| Is Your Jewelry Insurance Enough? |
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| Written by Sarah Carter |
| Wednesday, 08 September 2010 20:37 |
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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.
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 is listed specifically) is usually included in a rider, endorsement or floater to the home owner or renters policies. Insurance for jewelry can also be obtained by a separate policy from a jewelry insurance company. In the case of scheduled property, an appraisal is needed as it describes the item of jewelry and gives the 'insured value'. If you have need to file a claim on the insurance, the amount you are paid and the settlement procedure will depend on your policy and if the policy allowed agreed value settlement or alternatively, replacement. Do you have enough jewelry insurance? The answer depends on what kind of policy you have, the "insured value" is on the appraisal, the settlement procedure is for your particular policy, and the accuracy of the information on your appraisal. If you have a jewelry item valued at more than the $1500, you should definitely consider scheduled as opposed to unscheduled coverage. The critical issue for scheduled property coverage is the how accurate is the information on the appraisal. If the appraisal information is quite general and vague, the insurance company might replace an item with a similar one of lesser quality and value. Ensure that the appraisal is both accurate and detailed. If the appraisal value is artificially high, the insurance company can replace the item at their cost even though the client paid premiums for years on a value twice as much. This is often the case for purchases from a jewelry store with prices double other retailers and the store provides an insurance appraisal even higher than the purchase price. You do not need an appraised value more than 150% of the price you would pay at low priced 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. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Sarah Carter's has a website Wedding Ring Sets Guide which has more articles about jewelry, as well as information on buying wedding rings. |