Jewelry Insurance Too Expensive?

[diamondsR4eVR]

@Mreader i am so sorry that happened to you. I’m in healthcare and work in less than desirable neighborhoods with a lot of violence and I’m always leery about my jewelry showing. But I love what I do and enjoy helping ppl.

 

[MamaBee]

I don't insure everything...I only insured my studs, my 2.73 and 2.03 ctw mrb rings, and my bezel diamond bracelet. I have quite a lot that I don’t insure...It would cost more than I would be willing to pay. It’s also a pain in the keesta to do it with my insurance company.

 

[dk168]

A friendly pawn shop that I used to use once commented that it would be cheaper to pledge significant items with them for safe storage, than to list them individually on one's insurance policy for insurance purposes!

And one does not have to list their true values. In fact, pawn shop in UK won't pledge more than 30% of an item's true value apparently.

DK

 

[Modified Brilliant]

My response is to insure what you wear everyday and would feel most sad if lost or stolen. It's a personal and certainly an economic decision. My advice going forward is if you do insure it, beware of insurance companies automatically boosting your premiums annually (for inflation) whether needed or not. Check in with your appraiser every few years to see if a change in value is needed.

 

[whitewave]

I don’t insure, its a personal decision. There are valid arguments both for and against.
My engagement ring is appraised at $60,000, likewise the annual premium for insurance would be around $1,500.
ive had the ring 21 years, so that’s over $30,000 in insurance premiums I would have paid.
That said, we have a fire proof safe, we have an alarm and security shutters, we have dogs and I am retired.
I don’t wear expensive jewellery to the gym, to the beach or on holidays. I wear or take modest pieces, pieces I wouldn’t be upset about if they were lost or stolen.
Every day I check my jewellery before I leave the bedroom.
I check for loose gems, worn clasps, I double check my earring backs, my bracelets all have double lock clasps or a safety chain.
Over 50 years of jewellery ownership I have lost only a few items.

I thought I was the only on who didn’t wear her diamonds to the beach!

 

[whitewave]

There are some policies where they just reimburse you for the appraised value. Depends on the policy. So read your policy carefully and discuss with your insurance carrier, or broker.

Right, my agent writes out that it is a branded diamond etc. I also use receipts and not appraisals. Branded gemstone, etc. I make sure it is all written out in the description.

My CVB ID says it is a designer custom CVB ID ring etc.

You only pay premiums on appraisal if that is what you submit. I submit the actual receipts, so I pay premiums on what I actually paid, not on a feel good double amount appraisal.

Oh, one more thing... I tend to only insure items worth more than about 3K..

 

[lulu_ma]

Nope... it appears not. Despite my constant telling him he had to insure it before mailing it to LA and that there were risks to the stone during a reset... my fiancé apparently got an appraisal and then never insured it

We still need to get an independent appraisal of the ring in the new setting before insuring it but are dragging out feet since we are both totally work from home since March and it hasn't really left the house but also we aren't sure it's necessary if we choose to "self-insure".

We've discussed multiple options such as me not wearing it to work, putting it in a bank vault when we travel, getting a moissanite or larger eternity for daily wear, and getting a home safe that we bolt down etc etc. Still not sure what we'll do but I wanted to be able to gauge others reactions and formulate my own thoughts and feelings before we made any decisions. Although it seems the time is coming to make some decisions around this since we decided to risk booking an international trip to the Maldives in December (I know... I know... it seemed safer than traveling domestically due to needing a negative covid test from the past 72 hours to even get on the flight) and the ring definitely is not coming with but I don't just want to keep it in my jewelry box in my room either... Especially since we'll have our lovely roommates in and out of our room to dog sit during that time and while I generally trust them this is a very expensive and sentimental item and anything can happen...

@thaifood122 whether or not you insure it, I would get a 'play' ring to take on overseas vacations and put your heirloom somewhere safe. When I travel, even to the Caribbean, I wear a less valuable ring so I don't have to worry about it.

 

[Lookinagain]

Not sure if someone already said this, sorry if they did and I missed it, but I would make sure you get an appraisal for "replacement" cost, not retail cost. there is often quite a difference because the insurance company will often have relationships with jewelers who will give them/you the benefit of a lower cost than if the piece were being sold at retail. When I insure, which is only for my larger purchases, I ask for a "replacement" cost, and not retail cost, appraisal that I can use for insurance purposes.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That's a high retail appraisal. Here's an example of a 3.5 ct I VS2 at $39k:

3.50 Carat round diamond

This 3.5 carat round diamond I color vs2 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.jamesallen.com

If you insure at $55k, I can assure you they'll pay less than the stone above to replace your diamond. You'd be very much overpaying in premiums.

So unless you can find a jeweler or someone who will write a new appraisal if you show them a replacement stone like the one I posted for value purposes, I wouldn't consider insuring at $55k. I'd insure at $40k with a deductible, maybe.

I only insure the two pieces I wear the most (over $20k), one diamond ring and my studs. I have several other pieces of value, but it would be throwing money away to insure it all. I wouldn't even replace it all if it all disappeared. I have Chubb which is the best as they will just give you the insured amount in cash. But I have no idea if they are writing new jewelry policies now, but I will tell you my premiums are less than half what you are saying for a slightly lower coverage amount. That may have to do with where we both live, though.

I feel like you might need insurance because it sounds like your hubby is more of an investor than spender, and he might not replace your ring with one of similar value if you lost it!!!

 

[Polabowla]

I had a weird experience with chubb laat year . The 800 number said yes a local agent can do jewelry insurance. Called a bunch of agents listed on the website; only 1 answered and insisted they do not sell separate jewelry insurance.
So i can't figure out if they do or don't

 

[denverappraiser]

I had a weird experience with chubb laat year . The 800 number said yes a local agent can do jewelry insurance. Called a bunch of agents listed on the website; only 1 answered and insisted they do not sell separate jewelry insurance.
So i can't figure out if they do or don't

They can. That doesn’t mean they will.

 

[ame]

I had a weird experience with chubb laat year . The 800 number said yes a local agent can do jewelry insurance. Called a bunch of agents listed on the website; only 1 answered and insisted they do not sell separate jewelry insurance.
So i can't figure out if they do or don't

Most of them won't do standalone anymore, they used to. But now most agents will only do it if you get more stuff than jewelry on it, or if your jewelry is super high value.

 

[ame]

I am of the mind that you insure for appraisal value and hope like hell you never need it. I have had my rings stolen and I am glad as hell I did that because it allowed more options for replacement, and in the few years that it had been, there had been some significant market corrections, and the payout value was still not significant enough to cover the setting.

 

[Elizabeth35]

We only insure my ER and have a $5K deductible to keep the insurance cost down.
Just like car or home insurance, evaluate how much risk you are comfortable with and increase the deductible to reduce the premiums.

 

[Mreader]

My response is to insure what you wear everyday and would feel most sad if lost or stolen. It's a personal and certainly an economic decision. My advice going forward is if you do insure it, beware of insurance companies automatically boosting your premiums annually (for inflation) whether needed or not. Check in with your appraiser every few years to see if a change in value is needed.

I recently looked at my personal articles and saw that my 8K insured ring is now being insured at 12K!! This is from years of "added inflation" which is truly annoying because there is no way that ring would be worth 12k. I plan on stopping by this week to ask about it; I have no idea if I can get that lowered once it's in the policy and being adjusted like that without removing it altogether.