How to Insure Jewelry

Although some of your jewelery may be covered under your renter's or home owner's insurance policy, it may be worth insuring your jewelry separately if the value exceeds that covered on your other policies.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Safe-deposit Boxes
• Jewelry Inventory Sheet
• Jewelry Boxes
• Jewelry Insurance
• Jewlery Appraisals
• Cameras
• Film
• Cameras

1. Have all of your fine jewelry appraised by an independent appraiser. Make sure each item is listed, described and valued on paper.

2. Read your home owner's or renter's insurance policy to find out the amount of coverage it provides for items such as jewelry. The best insurance will cover loss, theft and damage.

3. Keep in mind that rates for personal jewelry insurance may vary according to your state or country, and you can select coverage with or without a deductible.

4. Speak to your insurance agent about adding a rider to your home owner's policy to cover jewelry that goes beyond the value of personal property covered in the basic policy. You can also ask about taking out a separate policy on your valuables.

5. Consider separate jewelry insurance (such as that offered by the Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company) as another alternative.

6. Compare all insurance plans, as well as the reputation of each company, and choose the one that gives you the most coverage for your money and the most flexibility if you have to replace jewelry.

Tips & Warnings

• When you are figuring out the basic coverage offered by your home owner's policy, don't forget to figure in deductibles. After a deductible is paid, you should be able to receive the full value of your jewelry.
• Beyond having insurance, to keep your jewelry safe you should store it in a personal safe or in a safety deposit box.
• Having photos of jewelry items is also important, as lost or stolen pieces can sometimes be recreated on the basis of a good photograph.
• All jewelry should be inspected on a regular basis for reassessment of value. If your jewelry is not valued appropriately, you will not be able to recover what you need to replace it if it is lost, damaged or stolen.

on 7/7/2006 My wedding band has two attached bands, so my engagement ring slips right into the center. I was planning on having these soldered together, however my mind changed after we started our homeowners insurance. They would only cover up to $1500 on one ring. My rings are worth way more than that. So we decided to keep them separate and now we are covered up to $3000.