Insuring your precious heirlooms, your treasured engagement ring and other valuable jewelry is of the utmost importance. As the Director of Insurance Claims at Perrara Fine Jewelry, I am the one who hears “the story”. Unlike the happy, memory making engagement or celebration of a milestone event, this story is the one that makes your stomach drop. The one that makes my heart ache for my client. It’s the story of how a beloved piece of jewelry was taken from them, be it a theft or loss. While it saddens me to listen and offer a tissue, it has given me unique perspective into a topic that we often don’t give enough weight to: insurance for your jewelry. With this article I hope to provide insight into two particular ways to have your jewelry insurance cover you, with some pros and cons to each. The ultimate goal is to have the peace of mind that you made a wise decision for your lifestyle and circumstances.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

By and large, most people initially want to insure their jewelry collection under their homeowners or renters insurance policy. And with good reason! They are already paying for coverage, this would simply be an add on, typically called a “rider” or “floater”. Floater insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers personal property that is easily movable and provides additional coverage over what normal insurance policies do not. It’s easy and convenient to have your policy in one spot covering everything.

If you have homeowners insurance or renters insurance, your jewelry may automatically be covered for a certain amount. The most common amounts are between $5000-$10000 but be sure to check your personal policy for the correct amount your insurance provider allows.

What does homeowners insurance cover? Again, that is a question for your insurance agent and/or consulting of your policy. Here’s some coverage you want to have for true jewelry coverage:

• Theft

  Theft is traditionally covered with all insurance policies. If you have a break in and your engagement ring, wedding rings or other jewelry is stolen, you will most likely be required to file a police report, which your homeowners policy may want as proof of the loss.

• Loss

  Loss as in you lose it...the worst. If you have experienced the loss of a piece of jewelry at your own hand, it can be absolutely heart wrenching. In my experience, it often happens when you’re out of your routine. For example, while enjoying Okanagan summers in cool lakes it can take mere moments for an engagement ring to inadvertently slip off while hands are cold. I’ve helped more than one woman who put her rings in her lap while in the car to put on hand lotion, got out, went on with their day until the realization hit...I didn’t put my rings back on.

• Mysterious Disappearance

  Mysterious disappearance always sounds a little sketchy...everybody asks “is that a real thing?” It might be depending on your coverage. Mysterious disappearance means you didn’t have a break in or theft but you also don’t have a ring. A number of years ago, I had a client who knows she wore her engagement ring to the ski hill but did not have it when she came home. Her best guess was that when her hands were cold and wet and she pulled her glove off, her wedding rings might have slipped off by accident. Mysterious disappearance would cover you if your kid flushed your rings down the toilet or other scenario where you have loss.

• Damage

  We have an entire article dedicated to the topic of engagement ring insurance and not relying solely on warranty. Check out the article but the Cliff’s Notes are that warranty in jewelry covers manufacturers defect. There has to be something inherently wrong with the way the piece of jewelry was built. If I had to guess, 99 times out of 100, damage is the culprit, not defect. I have a client who hooked her engagement ring on a heavy piece of equipment at work and pulled the entire halo off her stunning halo engagement ring. That is not a warranty claim with the designer...that is a damage claim with insurance.

• Worldwide Coverage

  This is another highly important point to ensure you are covered with your homeowners insurance policy. Are you covered for loss while travelling? A client was on a cruise through the Mediterranean, and one evening after dinner she used the public washroom (as her hotel room was at the other end of the ship) and placed her ring on the edge of the sink while she washed her hands. She was just sitting back down at her table with her newly minted fiancée when she realized she left her engagement ring on the sink. She rushed back but it was gone, someone had picked it up and did not turn it in. How tragic!! The kicker came when her home insurance denied her claim because her particular insurance coverage didn’t cover her when she wasn’t at home.

In our 30+ years of handling insurance claims, we’d like to bring to your attention the unspoken downside to insuring your jewelry in connection with your house insurance. This is strictly our opinion and past experience - it is in no way to be taken as gospel, as the ultimate guide. It’s just another way to look at the subject and possibly benefit from our knowledge.

Homeowners insurance policies are intended to cover loss in the event of something that you cannot recover from financially. It’s personal property coverage for scenarios such as fire, flood or earthquake. Should one of these catastrophic events occur, it is unlikely you will have the funds on hand to recover without the aid of an insurance claim. For the average family, your jewelry collection is more than likely only a small percentage of your coverage. This means that in the event of a loss, making a claim on a lost piece of jewelry may not be in your best interests.

Real life experience: Jeff and Meghan are a young newly engaged couple who I had the wonderful privilege of helping with her dream engagement ring. After getting engaged, they purchased their first home together. It was all falling into place. About 10 months after their engagement, Meghan lost her engagement ring in the ocean while vacationing in Mexico. She was devastated! But, she knew she had homeowners insurance as she had just completed the policy two months earlier when they bought the house. She called the insurance company upon returning home and, to make a claim to replace her ring valued at $5500, her deductible was going to be $1000. Added to that, her house insurance premiums would increase 30% each year for 5 years! The end result was she did not make a claim because in it simply wasn’t worth it. She’d pay more in increases and deductibles that it would cost to just purchase a new ring.

If you feel most comfortable having your homeowners insurance cover your valuable jewelry, here are some questions to ask your insurance company so you know exactly what to expect in the event of a loss:

• what is the coverage limit on lost jewelry if you do not purchase a separate policy for jewelry?

• what is the cost to get a separate rider on each piece of jewelry you wish to be covered for?

• what is the deductible in the event of a loss?

• will your premiums be affected should you make a claim, in what amount and for how long?

• do you get to choose the jeweler to replace the item(s) or are you limited to their selection?

• how long does a typical claim take to get approved for replacement?

   

What is a deductible? A deductible is the uninsured portion of your standard homeowners policy. While you may be covered for $10,000 for example, if your deductible is $1000, your insurance companies cheque will be for $9000. Your out of pocket expense to make a claim would be $1000.

It may take some time for you as the policyholder to really understand your jewelry insurance companies coverage but it will be well worth it should you need to make a claim for lost jewelry.

A STANDALONE POLICY

I’ll preface this next part of the article by saying that we are not affiliated with this insurance company, nor do we receive any financial compensation for promoting them. As a jewelry store, our insurance coverage is with this company. I have also completed claims for clients with this company and have found their coverage and promptness in replacing lost jewelry to be impeccable. We therefore wish to share our knowledge with you!

Jewelers Mutual is an insurance company that only insures jewelry. Not houses, boats, furs or anything else. Strictly jewelry. This means that their insurance coverage is very specialized, yet covers many types of jewelry. If you purchase coverage with Jewelers Mutual, you will be covered for the 5 scenarios listed above:

1. Theft

2. Loss

3. Mysterious Disappearance

4. Damage

5. Worldwide Coverage

Depending on the item and your past history with insurance claims, you may qualify for $0 deductible, which means there is no downside to making a claim. You can get a quote in seconds and then decide whether to apply. It’s such a simple process! If you decide to apply, just fill out the application, upload a copy of your appraisal stating the appraised value of your piece, pay for your policy and voila! You now have specific, individual coverage on your precious engagement ring or wedding band (and of course all other types of jewelry too!)

How much does jewelry insurance cost with Jewelers Mutual? Your yearly premium will be based on the item (ring vs necklace for example) and your geographic location. It’s best to get a quote based on the criteria above.

The claim process in the event of a loss is very easy. In my experience, within a day or two of a client opening an insurance claim for replacement of lost jewelry we have the go ahead. They make it so unbelievably easy, which is important when you are making a claim.

Pro tip: it is important to note that your jewelry policy with Jewelers Mutual covers the replacement value of your jewelry items, not reimbursement. This means that in the event of a claim, you will be required to replace the lost jewelry items. You will not be reimbursed for their value.

In our experience, this is jewelry insurance worth every penny. We entrust our vast inventory of engagement rings, wedding bands, loose diamonds & gemstones to the specialized coverage of Jewelers Mutual and we highly and wholeheartedly recommend them.

On your next jewelry purchase, why not get a quote from your house insurance broker and also from Jewelers Mutual? Then decide which way is best for you. After doing to comparison, many of our clients have taken advantage of the more comprehensive insurance coverage that Jewelers Mutual affords and they actually prefer having a separate policy. They have expressed that they feel more comfortable knowing that if they did have to start the claims process, it wouldn’t affect or disturb their homeowners insurance. Will this be your experience too?

In Summary:

Deciding on a jewelry insurance policy can feel like a bit of a daunting task. But it’s an important one. Take a few extra minutes to really understand what you are going to be covered for and what out of pocket expenses you may encounter along the journey of a claims process. At Perrara, we are always here if you need to bounce thoughts or ideas off of someone who understands the scary world of insurance claims. Please feel free to reach out anytime and we’ll be glad to help.

With Love, Perrara

Author: Lisa Maloney, Proprietor