Insuring Jewelry

Knowing how much personal property coverage you have on your homeowners or renters policy is a good starting point for insuring jewelry. Most of the time, you’ll be covered up to a specific limit if it is stolen ($2,500 total). However, with the average value of an engagement ring in the US costing around $5,000, homeowners’ insurance policies will most likely not cover the full value.

Since your standard policy most likely only covers part of the cost of your jewelry, and there’s usually no coverage for items that are lost or damaged, you may have to add additional coverage to ensure the full cost should you ever need to replace your jewelry.  This is done through a personal articles floater attached to your homeowners policy.
For high-value items, like engagement rings, the item is on a “schedule” and insured separately.  Usually,  you can expect to pay around $1-$2 per $100 of the item’s value.  If a ring or piece of jewelry is brand new, the receipt from the purchase can help determine its value.

Prior insurance carrier declarations are also good documentation to have on hand if your jewelry has been previously insured. It’s a good idea to have a professional written jewelry appraisal done to ensure that the item is insured at its correct value. This is especially true if the jewelry is an heirloom or hasn’t been purchased recently.
Keep in mind that the value of jewelry can fluctuate over time.  It is essential to have a recent appraisal done every 2-3 years and update your policy when the value of jewelry changes to ensure adequate coverage.

Another critical factor is ensuring your new jewelry is insured in a timely fashion.  You’ll want to ensure you’re covered, even if something were to happen in the days after purchasing or receiving it as a gift.

Once you have jewelry insurance, keep your current appraisal, policy information, and any relevant documentation about the piece in a safe place, in case you need to make a claim. It’s recommended that you also take pictures of the pieces (which should be included in a professional written appraisal).

*The above information is to be used as guidance only, and should not be considered as definite in any particular case.  Every policy is different, and you need to read through your policy and consult with your agent to determine how your coverage will respond.  Within this article, we cannot analyze every possible loss exposure and exception to the general guidelines above.