Jewelry Insurance is available in many different forms and varieties. In order to obtain accurate and specific advice, it’s important to consult a professional insurance firm or authorized agent. It pays to know something about jewelry insurance so you will know which questions, and to be aware of how the process of obtaining the cover works. Obviously, the time to ask questions is before insuring the jewelry and not when filing a claim. It pays to read the fine print in the insurance policy in order to ascertain whether the proper coverage is offered.
A deeper understanding of jewelry insurance starts with the recognition of the differences between scheduled property and unscheduled property.
Unscheduled property, with jewelry excluded from the listing, is included in basic homeowner/rental policies under umbrella coverage. There is a premium deductible and a ceiling to the maximum amount of coverage extended. There is no prior appraisal conducted for this kind of insurance policy but sale receipts, written confirmations, photos and descriptions are crucial in proving the existence of the items and their estimated value of the replacement.
Scheduled property, with jewelry items specifically listed, is included in endorsement form to homeowner/rental policies. Jewelry insurance can also be obtained separately, from an insurance firm that specializes in jewelry insurance. For this category of property, insurance appraisal is mandatory because first-hand information about the jewelry is obtained and the insured value, for calculating payable annual premiums, is established. The majority of scheduled property policies in the market do not cater for price appreciation in the jewelry items, meaning that if there is a 70% increase in the jewelry piece in 5 year’s time, the insured value is still what will feature in the appraisal.
