Scheduling jewelry onto homeowners insurance policies is the primary way most people insure their jewels, rings, watches, and other valuable items. Some companies will have you take out a separate inland marine policy, or rider, while other companies specialize in only selling jewelry insurance, but most people stick to adding it onto the homeowners. This being said, not every piece of jewelry needs to be scheduled and you should know how much coverage your home insurance policy gives you automatically. We will try to explain some of the ins-and-outs of insuring your jewelry and how to best make sure your jewelry is covered properly.
Nearly all home insurance companies will automatically offer a standard amount of jewelry coverage on their home policy. Depending on the homeowners insurance package you select, you could wind up with varying amounts of jewelry coverage. Many companies we represent give a standard $5,000 blanket amount of coverage for jewelry. Most companies will cover your jewelry for accidental damage, loss (mysterious disappearance), and theft. The amount of coverage is determined by existing bills of sale or appraisals. So, what happens if your jewelry exceeds the amount allotted by your standard home package?
It’s at this point that you’ll begin scheduling your jewelry and paying for it in addition to your homeowners insurance. Each company prices jewelry differently, but a good ballpark figure to consider is $10 per every $1,000 worth of jewelry coverage. So, a $10K ring would roughly add $100 per year to your homeowners insurance. Again, this is just a rough ballpark figure but is fairly consistent among most insurance companies. You’ll find that most insurance companies will want appraisals for any one specific item that is high in value. For instance, Erie Insurance requires an appraisal be submitted for any single-item valued over $7,000. Not only is this needed by the insurance company, but it should be kept by the insured as well on all of their jewelry they want valued correctly.
Increasingly, people are spending more on jewelry and other luxury items and need to have them properly insured. The most common item to insure is the engagement ring or wedding ring. These rings usually spark the conversation of insuring jewelry and allow us an opportunity to further educate our clients. Watches are another valuable item many people forget to schedule on their home insurance. Next time you review your home insurance or visit a jewelry store, please remember to insure these items properly to protect your purchase.