Wedding Ring And Personal Preoperty

cenino · Post by **cenino** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:17 am

I need help insuring a $23.000 wedding ring.
Can you added on to your homeowners policy?
Can you please let me know what companies provide coverage for this risk.

Thank you.

LCIS · Post by **LCIS** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:11 pm

Some Homeowners insurance companies will allow you to add what is called scheduled personal property onto your homeowners policy. Not all companies will. In any event you will most likely need a copy of a recent appraisal or bill of sale from the jewelry you purchased it from. If you got a really good deal and do not have an appraisal, do yourself a favor a get one, if you paid $23,000 but it will cost $35,000 to replace it, you want to insure it for $35,000. You also want to get an appraisal from a certified experienced appraiser. If they charge you $25 to appraise this ring you are not getting your monies worth. I have a rather pricey watch that I took in to a local jewelry store that was offering appraisals for the day ( some dweeb with a laptop traveling from store to store ) and although I got what looked like a really professional document with photos of the watch and documentation, I could not help but notice that this appraiser was looking on the internet sites for info about my watch, in the end my watch was appraised for about 30% more than I could buy it for from any jewler that handled this brand. I knew this was the type of junk I would get from this type of outfit, but I had a coupon for a FREE appraisal because my wife purchased a cheap ring from this store. I also have a REAL appraisal I used to insure it. Do yourself a favor and inquire with several jewelry stores what they charge for an appraisal and ask to see a sample of one they have done. A GOOD appraisal for a high end diamond ring could be 5 pages long. It will contain several photos of the ring as well as a diagram of the ring and the stone and markings of any inclusions or markings on the stone(s), it will also be very detailed as to the description of the setting, type of stones, clarity, color, grade, etc. As far as insuring it, expect to pay $1.00 to $3.00 per hundred dollars of coverage. this will depend on the company and the type of coverage you are able to get. make sure you have replacement coverage and that lost stones are covered. As odd as it sounds you may be able to insure it with your jeweler. There is a company called Jewelers Mutual that only insures Jewelers and jewelery stores, but they have a personal jewelery insurance program that you can get from stores insured by them. It is a good policy and good price if your jeweler happens to offer it. ( I can only speak of Jewelers mutuals policy, if your jeweler offers some other company I can not vouch for it). Good luck and congrats on the wedding

LCIS · Post by **LCIS** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:14 pm

Depending on where you are there should be no problem insuring the ring, check with your current insurance agent and if they are not able to help, check around, most independent insurance agents represent several companies and can even offer stand alone coverage for just the ring if needed.

cenino · Post by **cenino** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:11 am

Thank you for the information.
I am in texas and have coverage thru Cypress but they only increase up to $5000 and my agent does not have another program for this. i was trying to get a company if someone know of one that insures this risk it will be helpful, i know state farm does but if i change my homeowners with them it will double my premium for the same coverage and i don't think is worth it.

Let me know if you know any companies that have good coverage and low rates.

Thank you

sanddog · Post by **sanddog** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:33 pm

Hello Cenino, A general HO-3 policy will always have an endorsement for jewelry. That's the problem its minimal. Companies like State Farm, Allstate, Travelers, Allied/Nationwide, The Hartford, Safeco of America, lets not forgot about the bad boys Farmer Ins., and on. All have increased the limits to fits their appetite. You should shop around: State Farm and Farmers Ins., are very expensive. Remember and HO-3 policy is always the same, no matter what carrier you choose. All will add bells & whistles to make it more inviting. Chances are you'll never ever use though back door coverages. You will use what the policy is designed for, liability and building and basic property protection. Ok companies like Travelers and Allied will blow state farm out of the water. And the have extended replacement cost of 150% State farm is barley 120%. In California Good Luck

FYI your floater for the ring is about 250.00 annual in CA.

mrmreff · Post by **mrmreff** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 8:38 am

Find another agent. Insuring a $ 23K ring is just above insurance 101 and just about any agent can handle that for you.

ins geek · Post by **ins geek** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 1:49 pm

I agree. How the HO-3 works is this; there's minimal coverage for jewelry, furs etc, and that can be increased to around $5000, but that's not all risks. You want to schedule the ring separately; most any company can add a fine arts floater or schedule, and cover the ring as long as you have a recent appraisal with the cut, color, clarity etc. It doesn't have to have photos etc., the weight will be estimated unless someone takes the stone out to weigh it, but any jeweler can do an appraisal for you that'll fulfill most insurance companies requirements. As long as it's done by a certified gemologist, it's good. Look for GIA logos, that's the Gemological Institute of America that trains gemologists.

What the fine arts floater/schedule does is provide you all risks coverage; that means that if you knock the stone out and it goes down the drain you're covered. Without a schedule, assuming you could even get coverage that high, it isn't.