Jewlery Insurance

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#302
Oh my GAWD. I love your cat.

This thread is great. So helpful. I was about to insure a bunch of little things that are worth less than $2k mostly out of fear of loss ( I recently lost a Tiffany RG DBTY ...sigh ) but it never occurred to me that it would be silly to do that rather than just take the loss. Any idea how much your insurance premiums go up after filing a claim? Like if I lost a $10K item but otherwise had great record? I hate talking to insurance agents. I never feel like they give it to me straight.
 
#303
LeeMiller said:
I think it is important to consider the type of insurance. My policy which is cash-out or replacement for the same brand of ring is more expensive than a 'like-kind' replacement policy. You just need to make sure that you're covered similarly since I know you have some branded pieces.
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Lee- May I ask who your insurance company is? I can not find a policy that is cash out.

We pay for our losses, like car damage (valets!) out of our pocket. If my house burned down or an earthquake, we'd claim that.

Thieves break into homes that make it easy for them. Bad neighborhoods, no watch programs, Homeowner gone for extended time. And watch who one hires to do painting or remodeling.
 
#304
I hear you sister. I think from what I understand it works like car insurance - one freebie, but your second "accident" or claim sends your rates up. I'm going to chat with my agent this week and will let you know!

But no, I think I'm resolved to not insure things under $4K for sure... I would only be bummed in that case if I lost ALL my under $4K things at once, but then I'd still get $7k under my home insurance and the rest of the big items would be covered. I could get over that I think.
 
#305
LeeMiller said:
I have a mixed policy. My engagement ring is insured stand alone and since it is a Tiffany ring I got insurance that will replace it with a Tiffany branded ring or give me the cash to do so myself. I also have about $5,000 in general insurance that can cover whatever else I want. I recently talked to my agent though and she wants me to send her receipts for a bunch of purchases and insure those item by item as well - like my Cartier watch - which btw is covered for full new replacement, not depreciated value or anything like that.

I think it is important to consider the type of insurance. My policy which is cash-out or replacement for the same brand of ring is more expensive than a 'like-kind' replacement policy. You just need to make sure that you're covered similarly since I know you have some branded pieces.
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Can you tell me what insurance you have too? Thanks!
 
#306
ame said:
You'd be surprised how easily they can find things you think are well hidden!
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I know my daughter is a detective and I have all the inside stories, I have a great alarm and a place that is ok, no safe as there have been several cases where people were forced to open the safe by burglars and even so they open safes very easily or even carry them away, I have heard amazing stories, sometimes ignorance is bliss when it comes to violence and police stories….
 
#307
I have a rider on my homeowner's insurance for up to $50K worth of jewelry, up to $2K per item.

I "self-insure" the more expensive pieces.

I basically make payments to myself into a money market account for the first few years after buying an expensive piece. When I have the value of the piece into my account, I stop paying. I receive interest on my money.

I looked at Chubbs and a few other collectible and jewelry insurance - I realized that within a few years, I'll have paid for the piece once over. And that's assuming I didn't make a claim!
 
#309
surfergirljen said:
This is such great food for thought everyone, thank you!

Hokeplan - sure they could break into a house with a safe and an alarm... it does help though. :) I think if I lived in an apartment with multiple people possibly having keys to the door for example I'd be more nervous? I guess you just have to try to make it as hard as possible and hope for the best. I also worry about fire - but in that case I worry more about losing the pics of my kids on backup discs than jewelry!

I'm not sure what I'm more worried about - losing everything in the safe outright (to theft or fire) or losing the one precious item I'm wearing when I'm wearing it! I guess it must be the later since I've purposefully NOT worn some things in my safe for fear of them falling off and coming home to find them not on me! Horror!
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You need to check what perils are applicable to your jewellery limit...most policies I am familiar with in Ontario, limit the total jewellery loss only in the event of theft and/or mysterious disappearance - not fire, explosion, natural disaster etc...the insurable perils can be as important as your policy's jewellery limit. If you wear a lot of jewellery, you can't lose what you keep at home and what you wear at the same time so it depends what your concern is, theft, fire, etc
 
#310
slang said:
You need to check what perils are applicable to your jewellery limit...most policies I am familiar with in Ontario, limit the total jewellery loss only in the event of theft and/or mysterious disappearance - not fire, explosion, natural disaster etc...the insurable perils can be as important as your policy's jewellery limit. If you wear a lot of jewellery, you can't lose what you keep at home and what you wear at the same time so it depends what your concern is, theft, fire, etc
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OMG more good points... I have to go through all of this with my agent tomorrow! Gah!!! My head is going to explode!

So you mean if there was a fire as opposed to a theft, and everything was burned down, there would be a smaller limit or a larger one?? SO confused!

I don't wear a lot at once - say my wedding set (my single most valuable item by FAR) plus maybe a pendant worth around $10 K - $16 K... and maybe a bracelet that is something like the LOVE bangle.

I'm starting to think that if say 70% of my "collection" in total was recoupable in the case of theft at the house for example, I'd be okay with getting that money back. I don't want to be a fool either and insure every single thing when someone above made a great point about "self insuring" - I kind of hate insurance to be honest! It feels very opportunistic. I know if I lost something big I would love it... but it's like banking on disaster. KWIM? But that's another story!!
 
#311
surfergirljen said:
OMG more good points... I have to go through all of this with my agent tomorrow! Gah!!! My head is going to explode!

So you mean if there was a fire as opposed to a theft, and everything was burned down, there would be a smaller limit or a larger one?? SO
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I hate to generalize BUT most comprehensive homeowner policies in Ontario have NO limit on jewellery for perils such as fire, explosion etc - those jewellery limits they put into place (ex: policy having a $6000 jewellery limit) are "normally" only for theft and mysterious disappearance

Check your policy or call your broker, they will walk you through that limits and perils apply to jewellery losses..GL!
 
#314
Vintage Leather said:
I looked at Chubbs and a few other collectible and jewelry insurance - I realized that within a few years, I'll have paid for the piece once over. And that's assuming I didn't make a claim!
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That's what I found too with Fireman's fund (Chubbs competitor). They over inflated the value of my stuff over the years.
But if it came time for a claim, they would only pay out the amount I paid for the replacement.
Ex- they say my ring is worth X, that's what I pay premiums on. Then ring disappears, I go to auction & buy one equal to one gone, at half the over inflated amount I paid the premiums on. So no cash out to me for the difference even though I paid the over inflated price premiums.
If I decided not to replace it, which is a possibility the older I get, I'm SOL.
This is a change in the way insurance companies they are doing business.

We self insure too. If I lose any of my jewelry, since we don't consider these items investments, it will not change our lifestyle. (Safety precautions include where we live, excellent security, gates, 24/7 guards, throw parties away from our home, etc. There really is much one can do to control this. )
Do have one 7ct eternity band insured, since I wear it all the time. And the premiums are reasonable.
 
#315
surfergirljen said:
Just wondering b/c I'm so behind in this and now that I have a few new pieces :) I have to get on it!!

My philosophy has been to insure all the "bigger" ones as in anything over say $8,000 ... does that make sense? Or am I nuts? I don't want to go crazy - we do have a safe, an alarm and a dog and nothing other than my e-ring is worth over $16K...

I believe our home insurance covers up to $7K worth of jewellery (I wonder if that's per person though or total?? hmmm...) so that should cover some of the "fun" but real gold (like Jennifer Meyer, Sydney Evan stuff...) ...

I'm torn about doing things in the middle though like VCA bracelets at $3500... it's going to be a big bill if I include EVERYTHING!
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surfergirljen - i saw your other post on the Tiffany solitaire upgrade *swoon*...we're actually going to be getting a few rings in to look at and making a decision soon so was curious if have any insight on insurance for your e-ring?
 
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