Did you give or receive jewelry for Valentine’s Day this year? Do you have some other valuable pieces of jewelry in your home? After you’ve professed your love to your special someone, remember to make sure your gift is properly insured.
Even one valuable piece of jewelry in your household can cause your personal property insurance needs to change. You to talk to your insurance agent about the coverage limits within your homeowners insurance policy.
About Jewelry Coverage
Jewelry and other valuables are covered under the personal property portion of your homeowners insurance policy. Typically, different types of personal property are categorized and assigned maximum coverage limits within your policy. These coverage limits are the maximum amount that you can be paid to replace those items in the event of a covered loss—whether or not the true value of those items exceeds that limit. Most homeowners policies will limit jewelry coverage to $1,000 per piece of jewelry and $2,500 for all of the jewelry in your household. If you have a piece of jewelry that is worth $5,000, you will not have adequate coverage.
You can increase the coverage limits on high value jewelry in two ways.
- Increase the “special limits of liability” for the categories in which you have more valuable items. In this case, you would need to increase the entire jewelry category limit to a more appropriate level. Most insurance companies will increase the limit on any category of covered items in $1,000 increments, but there will likely be a ceiling to which you can raise the limit.
- Add a scheduled personal property rider to your policy. This will increase the coverage limit on a certain item (rather than an entire category of items). This is advantageous because the rider provides all-risk coverage; the item listed on the rider is covered for all risks, not just the “covered perils” outlined in the main homeowners policy. Scheduled personal property is typically not subject to your deductible.
You must also remember that the value of the jewelry in your household may change over time. As gold prices have skyrocketed over the last decade, the value of your jewelry may have increased as well. Jewelry should be re-appraised every 3 – 5 years and your homeowners policy should be adjusted accordingly.
Don’t let your valiant effort to impress your Valentine this year go to waste and leave your gift unprotected while it is in your home. In addition to securing appropriate insurance coverage, always make sure that your jewelry is kept safe and secure within your home, and while you are wearing it.
We can help you determine if you have the right amount of personal property coverage for your jewelry and all of your valuable possessions.
