Talk to me about the insurance process

[hoofbeats95]

Thanks to all the great people on this board I have officially reserved a stone at WF! Woo hoo!

Try as I might I don''t think I''m going to find a setting I want from them. I''m going to the local store tonight to see what they have and to return my original ering! I''d like to insure the stone through the setting process but how hard is that? I know JM does it.

Also - does WF send me all that I need to get the stone insured? I don''t want to have to pay more for an appraisal. Do they ever send the ASET and IS images as well? Just curious. Wouldn''t mind having that.

They recommended Touchstone. a friend recommended JM. Not sure which I like better. Not sure I understand the diff. I want the ring protected from damage AND loss. I don''t want to pay that much each year. The stone is only around $2600. So at JM a 3K ring is $30 a year. That sounds really easy to afford. What do you guys think. Guide me!

 

[denverappraiser]

It’s a trick question. None of the insurance companies will insure an unmounted stone so there’s a slight window right at the beginning of your plan that’s a problem but I’ll start at the end.

When you have a completed ring you will need to provide your insurer with sufficient documentation so that they know what you have and so that they can replace it with another of like kind and quality in the case of a loss. Depending on the policy limits desired, the insurers are usually pretty agreeable to accept almost anything and paperwork provided by Whiteflash about the diamond and from the jeweler about the ring itself is usually sufficient for their requirements.

The tricky part is between when you sign for the stone from Whiteflash, thereby releasing the insurance from the carrier, and when the jeweler delivers the finished piece to you. Sometimes this will be covered by the jeweler and sometimes it won’t. Ask ‘em.

If you want to buy coverage yourself that covers this window, the only company I know of that offers it is Jewelers Mutual. What you do is have the jeweler write up some sort of description of what the ring is going to be, including the paperwork from WF and bind the policy in advance on a piece that requires some assembly. This requires a bit of cooperation from the jeweler or an appraiser and there may or may not be a fee for it. Again, ask. To be sure I charge to do this but a jeweler may be willing to toss it in as part of the bundle along with the ring, setting labor and whatever else you're buying from them.

JM charges anywhere from 1-2% of the declared value in most places and this includes a full year of coverage, not just for the time it’s in the hands of your jeweler. The difference has to do with your zip cod of residence. You can look up their rates on their website.

Touchstone is an agent that sells for Chubb and XL-Gemshield. They’re both fine companies but I don’t think either offers the above coverage. I’m sure that they too would be happy to discuss their options with you. Contact info is on their website.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver