Yes. Full stop. Your engagement ring is undoubtedly one of your most precious possessions. It’s that instant reminder of the bond you share with your beloved. Along with your wedding bands, it brings back memories of your journey together - from meeting, to dating, to engagement to family. No doubt you want to protect your investment...but how? At Perrara, I am the person who handles insurance claims so in this blog I’m going to give you my best advice along with most frequently asked questions on the topic: should I insure my engagement ring?

I have warranty, doesn’t that mean I’m covered for everything?

No, not at all. Warranty coverage refers to manufacturers defect. This means there has to be something inherently wrong with how the ring was crafted. In over 30 years in the jewelry industry, I have only seen manufacturers defect twice. In my experience, it is quite rare. More often that not, when issues arise, they are a result of damage not defect. This is where insurance coverage will come in! No matter where you purchase an engagement ring, our recommendation is not to rely solely on warranty as there are finite limitations to what will be covered. You should purchase engagement ring insurance.

Should I add my engagement ring to my homeowners insurance policy?

This is a personal choice, however, please reflect on what a homeowners insurance policy is intended for. House insurance is intended to cover you for something you can’t recover from financially on your own. Think fire, flood, earthquake. Something with repairs or replacement numbering from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands (or more). What we’ve seen time and time again is that if you are putting in a claim for a lost engagement ring valued at $10,000 for example, by the time you pay your deductible and possibly deal with your rates going up, it’s not worth it to make a claim. This is not a great feeling. You want peace of mind...but not all is lost! Read on...

What is Jewelers Mutual?

Jewelers Mutual is an insurance company that solely insures jewelry. Like our store is covered with this company, and historically that is what they were known for. But now they offer personal jewelry coverage. This type of insurance is very specialized: you are purchasing engagement ring insurance. The great news is you are covered by more than you would be by adding the engagement ring to your house insurance (and yes, you can certainly add your wedding band or wedding rings to your policy as well). With Jeweler’s Mutual your policy covers you for the following scenarios:

• Theft - someone steals it from you

• Loss - you lose it

• Damage - you manage to damage the ring setting or even the center diamond itself. They will even cover the little diamonds and prongs

• Mysterious Disappearance - what is that? Whenever I tell a client about mysterious disappearance coverage they often say “that sounds a little sketchy!” It’s totally not. Basically mysterious disappearance means you didn’t have a break in, but you also no longer have a ring. One really good example of mysterious disappearance is my client who knows she wore her engagement ring to the ski hill and when she came home she no longer had it. Her best guess is maybe when her hands were cold and wet the ring slipped off her finger when she pulled her glove off. Was she ever glad she had engagement ring insurance!

• Worldwide Travel - this was something I didn’t even consider until I had a client lose her ring on a cruise ship. Her standard homeowners coverage was denied because her personal property wasn’t lost or stolen from her home. How disappointing! If your current policy with home insurance doesn’t cover you worldwide and you are a traveler, you may want to explore a different insurance provider.

The other thing I really appreciate about this jewelry insurance companies benefits is your option to get $0 deductible. This means there is really no downside to making a claim! Whether your claim is $200 or $2000, it won’t cost you anything to repair or replace your piece of jewelry.

Jewelers Mutual will require a copy of the appraisal to confirm the value of the ring (or bracelet, earrings, necklace, etc) and determine your coverage limit. The application process online is easy, maybe 5-10 minutes of your time, upload the appraised value and pay for the insurance cost and you’re ready to go! Easy peasy.

An Important Note: Jewelers Mutual jewelry insurance policy covers you for replacement or repair of your lost, stolen or damaged jewelry. They do not pay out replacement value or issue a cheque for the value of your ring. This means that in the event of a loss, your option is to replace the piece (not receive a payout for it’s value).

As a jeweler, I appreciate how fast and painless they make it during the claim process. Often times, I will have the go ahead to replace the item within a day of two of my client opening a claim. Plus, if you call the phone number you can speak to a real person, which is always nice when you have questions.

Of all the insurance options, we highly recommend getting a free quote by Jewelers Mutual and get your precious diamond engagement ring covered for all the scenarios life might throw at you. Please note that we are not affiliated with Jewelers Mutual and do not receive any financial benefit for promoting their services. We personally insure our inventory with them and have had only positive experiences helping clients with replacement...so we wanted to pass along our kudos!

What if I want to cover an heirloom engagement ring?

You can and should do so. You will need a current appraisal and appraised value for what it cost to replace that piece with like kind and quality. As an heirloom, the insurance company would have no way to replace exactly what was lost, nor are they able to compensate you for sentimental value. What is often expected in an heirloom loss is to be able to work on replacement using the full value of the original piece.

Can I add my engagement ring and wedding rings to my renters insurance policy?

That would be a question for your personal renters insurance company. Be sure to understand if you are covered for jewelry, what your deductible is should you need to make a claim and if your rates will go up in the event of a jewelry claim.

In Summary:

For the peace of mind you receive, knowing you are covered for all of life’s possible mishaps, it is well worth the insurance cost. Engagement ring insurance is one of those things you will never regret having, especially should you need to make a claim. No matter where you purchase your engagement ring, wedding band or wedding rings, please consider purchasing jewelry insurance to protect your investment. Should you have any specific questions we can assist with, please feel free to message us for a personal answer. We’re here for you.

With Love, Perrara

Author: Lisa Maloney, Proprietor