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Appraising
And Insuring Your Jewelry
Author:
Andy Moquin
II've seen it
time and time again. Customers come to have estimates or appraisals
done for their lost, stolen, or damaged jewelry. They ask if the
appraisal can be done without seeing the jewelry or if it can be done
based on their recollection of what it used to look like.
Unfortunately insurance companies will not accept this form of
evaluation or appraisal, and certainly not after the fact. In the
following article I will explain what to do in order to properly
appraise and insure your jewelry.
Creditable Appraisals
Insurance
companies require that your jewelry policy be based on official and
creditable appraisals done by a reputable jeweler. Jewelers that have
studied or have been train by the Gemological Institute of America
(GIA) will provide the most acceptable appraisals. Being trained by
GIA ensures a conservative grading analysis and a correct evaluation
of the jewelry's worth. Most insurance companies do not require that
you have your jewelry appraised by GIA graduates however; it's always
better to have one done by someone with these credentials.
Your appraisal
should include the information regarding the precious metal content
including it's weight, karat purity, and color. The diamonds and
gemstones should be described in terms of shape, carat weight, color,
clarity, and cut grade. If the diamonds are pre-certified by a
grading laboratory then you should give a copy of the certification
to the appraiser and ask them to list this information on the
appraisal. If possible have the appraiser photograph the items and
attach this photograph to the appraisal when submitting to the insurance
company. Always keep a copy in a safe deposit box or in a fire
proof safe.
Jewelry
appraisals should be reassessed every 7-10 years to determine if the
value of the items has appreciated. Jewelry is a commodity and like
all commodities they are subject to fluctuations in value. In recent
years the value of certain diamonds have actually doubled in price
because of shortages in the marketplace for high demand shapes and
sizes. A loss after such a gain in value without proper reassessments
will result in gaps in your jewelry coverage when trying to replace
the item.
Choosing the
Proper Insurance Coverage
The biggest
mistake consumers' make is assuming that their homeowners insurance
will cover them in the event of a loss. This could be further from
the truth. The typical home insurance
only allows $1500 - $5000 for personal articles and with that is a
deductible of $500 - $1500. Along with that is the fact that some
homeowners' insurance policies do not allow for loss of the item,
damage, or diamond loss from the setting.
The best way
to insure your jewelry is to get a personal articles policy written
by your agent. This policy should include loss of the item, theft of
item, damage, and loss of gemstones & diamonds. Ask your
insurance agent to quote the policy with no deductible and with the
above coverage. The going rate for jewelry insurance is $1.50 - $1.85
per hundred and if you're quote higher then your probably paying too
much. To calculate the annual premium take the appraised value of the
jewelry and multiply is by the rate and then divide it by 100.
Example (appraised value $10,000 X $1.50 = $15,000 Divide by 100 =
$150 per year).
Some local
insurance agents aren't familiar with jewelry insurance policies and
you may feel like you're not getting the proper assistance. There are
a couple of jewelry insurance companies that provide superior service
and if your agent fails to give you proper assistance I recommend you
give them a call. The two I like most are CHUBB Insurance and
Jewelers Mutual. These companies specialize in personal articles
policies and generally have the lowest rates with the best coverage.
Insurance is
one of those things that you have to think about until you really
need it. I will say though that a jewelry insurance policy makes a
lot of sense. Let say you have a wedding set worth $5000 that you
wear every day. How often do walk around with $5000 cash in your
pocket? Almost never right? Well is some cases you walk around with
the jewelry equivalent all the time. If you have valuable jewelry
that you wear everyday then you are certainly increasing your chances
of having an unfortunate loss. Jewelry valued at $5000 can cost as
little as $75 per year to insure. It's worth every penny to give you
the peace of mind to wear it with pride and without worry.
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