confusing insurance coverage - help please

[san diego searcher]

My State Farm agent told me that if I got personal articles policy with them to cover my diamond earrings that if I lost an earring they would replace the pair. We went back and forth via email with various questions and more recently she said if I paid an additional $20 per year premium they would replace both earrings if one was lost and they were not able to replace it (match it to other, I guess). She also said when we first talked that I should make sure I don''t cover the diamonds for a high retail price as they will only give me what they would have to pay to replace the earrings -- basically wholesale is what she said (or I could have them replace them for me). Assuming that I ever did lose one earring, I don''t see why I wouldn''t be able to find a stone to match it (assuming they would pay me an appropriate value for the lost diamond).

One of the reasons I wanted to go with State Farm is that I have my other insurances with them and I feel they somewhat know me. But if I was making a claim, would I be dealing with different people anyway? Does anyone have experience getting a jewelry claim paid by State Farm?

Frankly, I''m going circular on this and starting to think maybe I should just self-insure. I''ve never insured any of my other jewelry and never lost anything significant. I am just thinking of insuring diamond earrings as earrings are easier to lose than a ring for instance. Advice?

 

[talen316]

Actually, not too long ago we had to file a claim on a piece of jewelry insured in our PA policy with State Farm. The piece was relatively inexpensive as compared to the stone we just purchased. State Farm was excellent in processing the claim and making payment which I received very quickly. Again, this was a much smaller claim so perhaps that was part of the reason why they may have been so agreeable, but in any event, I was very satisfied with the service I received and will, at least initially, insure my wife's solitaire through my PA policy with State Farm. Also, to answer your question, I dealt with the same agent in filing the claim as I've normally been dealing with otherwise.

I too am trying to figure out what price to insure the ring for. The retail replacement cost indicated in the appraisal I was given is substantially higher than what I paid, but I'm debating the same concerns that you have about that high cost resulting in a higher premium that may not be justified depending on what the insurance company will actually pay out if (god forbid) a claim has to be filed.

To your last point, I don't know that I would selectively choose not to insure earrings over a ring or vice-versa based on my perception of which would be easier to lose. Personally, I would base my decision to insure an item based upon its value and my risk tolerance for not having insurance in the event they were to get lost/stolen/damaged.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Have you considered Jeweler''s Mutual? If you are interested, here is a link so that you can see if they might be better suited to your needs.

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 1/31/2008 11:34:54 PM
Author: talen316
Actually, not too long ago we had to file a claim on a piece of jewelry insured in our PA policy with State Farm. The piece was relatively inexpensive as compared to the stone we just purchased. State Farm was excellent in processing the claim and making payment which I received very quickly. Again, this was a much smaller claim so perhaps that was part of the reason why they may have been so agreeable, but in any event, I was very satisfied with the service I received and will, at least initially, insure my wife''s solitaire through my PA policy with State Farm. Also, to answer your question, I dealt with the same agent in filing the claim as I''ve normally been dealing with otherwise.

I too am trying to figure out what price to insure the ring for. The retail replacement cost indicated in the appraisal I was given is substantially higher than what I paid, but I''m debating the same concerns that you have about that high cost resulting in a higher premium that may not be justified depending on what the insurance company will actually pay out if (god forbid) a claim has to be filed.

To your last point, I don''t know that I would selectively choose not to insure earrings over a ring or vice-versa based on my perception of which would be easier to lose. Personally, I would base my decision to insure an item based upon its value and my risk tolerance for not having insurance in the event they were to get lost/stolen/damaged.

thanks. Glad to hear State Farm treated you fairly. As far as valuation of my earrings, after talking with State Farm and with my appraiser, my intent would be to insure them for an amount higher than wholesale (and higher than what I paid to WF) but not high retail (price that one would pay in a high end BM store). As you say, don''t want to pay higher than necessary premiums but don''t want to under-value either. As far as the "pairs coverage" I guess $20 extra won''t make much difference in premium but I have asked her to clarify. Question my appraiser asked when I told him they said if I lost one earring they would replace the pair was: would they want you to give them the one you didn''t lose?

 

[cruiserhead]

Is it common to use your homeowners policy?
I plan to call about this, great topic.

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 1/31/2008 11:51:16 PM
Author: cruiserhead
Is it common to use your homeowners policy?
I plan to call about this, great topic.

My agent suggested having a separate policy. she said the personal articles policy would have no deductible, whereas our homeowners policy has a $500 deductible and is limited to maximum of $5,000 for jewelry, I think. Also, if we made one claim on our homeowners policy they would forgive it but if we should make a second one we would lose our excellent status and have a substantial rate increase on our homeowners policy.

 

[cruiserhead]

oh, very interesting... thank you , more to look into.

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 1/31/2008 11:45:30 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
Have you considered Jeweler''s Mutual? If you are interested, here is a link so that you can see if they might be better suited to your needs.

I was leaning toward State Farm so I''d have someone local that I know to talk to but I should check ths one out too. Thanks

 

[strmrdr]

State Farm varies from place too place around here the claims adjusters are known too be jerks and tons of people have dropped them over it including me.

 

[cruiserhead]

does the $1 per $100 sound expensive for insurance?

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 2/1/2008 12:44:19 AM
Author: cruiserhead
does the $1 per $100 sound expensive for insurance?

seems pretty comparable to state farm premium

 

[pivotalrex]

Fiance''s ring is insured with Chubb. I would use them or JM. You pay a higher premium vs a rider for home owner''s but you don''t have to worry about your home policy increasing or even being dropped for having too many claims within a certain period of time ( I think the # of claims and time frame vary by ins carrier).

Generally you should insure for the appraised value. Appraisals vary but generally it will be somewhere around 1.5 times the cost of the ring. It takes into account market fluctuation and the cost to replace the item.

keep in mind even someone that buys a ring today, unless the setting is being made from platinum, the gold being used was purchased a few weeks to a few months ago. Now gold is going for 900.00 an ounce, that''s about 300.00 more than a yr ago. So replacing a ring is only going to cost more b/c of this.

 

[ByGoneEraBride]

Date: 1/31/2008 11:51:16 PM
Author: cruiserhead
Is it common to use your homeowners policy?
I plan to call about this, great topic.

IT is common to use your homeowners policy on smaller items, just remember, a lot of plans don''t have coverage above a certain amount. You need a rider in order to have adequate coverage.

 

[talen316]

Hmmm. Y''all got me rethinking the idea of insuring the wife''s ring on my HO rider now. I may have to look into the likes of JM, Chubbs or both. Thanks

 

[denverappraiser]

They typical state farm policy offers coverage for replacement with another of ‘like kind and quality’. In the case of a single lost earring this will depend on their ability to match the lost earring exactly. For some items this is pretty easy, for others it’s impossible. If they can replace just one, that’s generally what they’ll do. If they must replace the pair, they will and the surviving earring will become theirs. These things vary quite a bit from state to state and from policy to policy. For details about your own policy, ask your agent or call the 800# on the company''s website.

The advice from San Diego''s agent about claims activity on a homeowners policy is good. Too much activity on this policy can be a serious problem and can result in losing discounts or even cancellation of your policy.

The appraiser should be providing a value that will allow the company to replace without unnecessary extra premiums. If they haven''t done this (and this is what you asked for, there are other types of appraisals where this isn''t the objective) call them up and complain.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 2/1/2008 7:12:23 PM
Author: denverappraiser
They typical state farm policy offers coverage for replacement with another of ‘like kind and quality’. In the case of a single lost earring this will depend on their ability to match the lost earring exactly. For some items this is pretty easy, for others it’s impossible. If they can replace just one, that’s generally what they’ll do. If they must replace the pair, they will and the surviving earring will become theirs. These things vary quite a bit from state to state and from policy to policy. For details about your own policy, ask your agent or call the 800# on the company''s website.

The advice from San Diego''s agent about claims activity on a homeowners policy is good. Too much activity on this policy can be a serious problem and can result in losing discounts or even cancellation of your policy.

The appraiser should be providing a value that will allow the company to replace without unnecessary extra premiums. If they haven''t done this (and this is what you asked for, there are other types of appraisals where this isn''t the objective) call them up and complain.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

My appraiser is writing appraisal (he''s mailing it; don''t have yet) for about 30% more than what I paid for earrings from WF. The WF valuation document that they provided gives a value of about $1,000 more than what my appraisal will be. I thought that even though you don''t want to pay premiums for value higher than necessary, you also don''t want to make value too low--then they won''t pay any more than that and it may be worth more by the time the loss occurs. Do you agree?
Also, what about this "pairs coverage" for extra $20 per year? Realistically, I see no reason why I shouldn''t able to get a matching diamond if I lose one (assuming they give me enough money, based on what their wholesaler tells them). The more they emphasize that my replacement will be wholesale, the more I want to talk to Chubb.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I submitted my WhiteFlash sales receipt to Chubb to cover my earrings. I just can't see any reason to overinsure when it will be several years before diamonds are 30% more than they are now (I hope!).

Oh, and if your stones are from WF, you don't need to pay the extra $20 for pair coverage. You could always trade in the remaining stone with WF and start over with a new pair if you couldn't find a match for the remaining stone.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 2/2/2008 11:21:31 AM
Author: san diego searcher

My appraiser is writing appraisal (he''s mailing it; don''t have yet) for about 30% more than what I paid for earrings from WF. The WF valuation document that they provided gives a value of about $1,000 more than what my appraisal will be. I thought that even though you don''t want to pay premiums for value higher than necessary, you also don''t want to make value too low--then they won''t pay any more than that and it may be worth more by the time the loss occurs. Do you agree?

Also, what about this ''pairs coverage'' for extra $20 per year? Realistically, I see no reason why I shouldn''t able to get a matching diamond if I lose one (assuming they give me enough money, based on what their wholesaler tells them). The more they emphasize that my replacement will be wholesale, the more I want to talk to Chubb.

San Diego,

Chubb is a great company. The only problems I have with them is that for some customers it seems to be difficult to buy a policy from them and in certain markets they are significantly more expensive than their competitors. By all means give them a call.

For reasons that are a bit hard to explain in a short post, the ‘wholesale’ that’s paid by insurance companies is often higher than the ‘retail’ that’s charged by the popular PS vendors. This is doubly true with branded goods (like the WF ACA line) where the only place they can buy one is from Whiteflash. The specs in the appraisal that you submit are terribly important because this will become the purchase order at time of replacement. If hearts and arrows, or branding, or a particular lab or anything else were part of your specs when you bought it and you expect them to be part of the specs when the insurance company replaces it then they should be discussed in the body of the appraisal.

Most companies don’t charge extra for pairs coverage and this is the first time I’ve heard of State Farm making such an offer. Certain items, like stud earrings are pretty easy to replace just one. Other items, like a matched pair of mirrored hummingbird by a particular designer who is now deceased, would be impossible.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

 

[surfgirl]

There is no reason to over insure your earrings if you''re going with a "replacement" type of policy like State Farm. They will not give you the higher value anyway so what''s the point of over insuring them? If you were going with Chubb, who does a ''pay out'' policy, then you might want to make sure you insure them for what you''d have to pay to replace them, but again, if you insure for a higher amount, you''re paying a higher premium...

 

[san diego searcher]

Date: 2/2/2008 12:05:38 PM
Author: denverappraiser

Date: 2/2/2008 11:21:31 AM
Author: san diego searcher

My appraiser is writing appraisal (he''s mailing it; don''t have yet) for about 30% more than what I paid for earrings from WF. The WF valuation document that they provided gives a value of about $1,000 more than what my appraisal will be. I thought that even though you don''t want to pay premiums for value higher than necessary, you also don''t want to make value too low--then they won''t pay any more than that and it may be worth more by the time the loss occurs. Do you agree?

Also, what about this ''pairs coverage'' for extra $20 per year? Realistically, I see no reason why I shouldn''t able to get a matching diamond if I lose one (assuming they give me enough money, based on what their wholesaler tells them). The more they emphasize that my replacement will be wholesale, the more I want to talk to Chubb.

San Diego,

Chubb is a great company. The only problems I have with them is that for some customers it seems to be difficult to buy a policy from them and in certain markets they are significantly more expensive than their competitors. By all means give them a call.

For reasons that are a bit hard to explain in a short post, the ‘wholesale’ that’s paid by insurance companies is often higher than the ‘retail’ that’s charged by the popular PS vendors. This is doubly true with branded goods (like the WF ACA line) where the only place they can buy one is from Whiteflash. The specs in the appraisal that you submit are terribly important because this will become the purchase order at time of replacement. If hearts and arrows, or branding, or a particular lab or anything else were part of your specs when you bought it and you expect them to be part of the specs when the insurance company replaces it then they should be discussed in the body of the appraisal.

Most companies don’t charge extra for pairs coverage and this is the first time I’ve heard of State Farm making such an offer. Certain items, like stud earrings are pretty easy to replace just one. Other items, like a matched pair of mirrored hummingbird by a particular designer who is now deceased, would be impossible.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

So it sounds like I could pass on the pairs coverage if I go with State Farm. Maybe since I did get the appraisal I should be honest with the insurance companies and provide them with the price I paid plus the appraised value and then decide with their help how much to insure for. The cost difference to insure them for a bit more than I paid probably won''t be significant. Do you agree with this strategy...or are they likely to refuse to insure for more than what I paid? I don''t know whether chubb will insure me if I don''t have homeowners insurance with them but since I''ve heard good things about them, it''s worth asking.
I know I''m making kind of a big deal out of this but I normally don''t insure personal articles...justing thinking in the case of earrings they are easy to lose and would be nice to cover laptop as we take on travel and leave in hotel room.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 2/4/2008 11:38:00 AM
Author: san diego searcher
So it sounds like I could pass on the pairs coverage if I go with State Farm. Maybe since I did get the appraisal I should be honest with the insurance companies and provide them with the price I paid plus the appraised value and then decide with their help how much to insure for. The cost difference to insure them for a bit more than I paid probably won''t be significant. Do you agree with this strategy...or are they likely to refuse to insure for more than what I paid? I don''t know whether chubb will insure me if I don''t have homeowners insurance with them but since I''ve heard good things about them, it''s worth asking.
I know I''m making kind of a big deal out of this but I normally don''t insure personal articles...justing thinking in the case of earrings they are easy to lose and would be nice to cover laptop as we take on travel and leave in hotel room.
Thanks for your help.

Any insurance company, homeowner''s, jewelers, whatever, has a responsibility to "make you whole" when something goes awry that is covered by your policy. The only thing you have to worry about is having enough coverage. Not dishonest coverage, (everyone here is correct. If they can replace it, they will. If they can fix it, they will. Doesn''t matter what kind of overblown coverage you have), but honest, actual-replacement, common-sense coverage. So yeah, if you bought online and you know that you got a significant discount below what you might pay at a brick and mortar, perhaps you should get an independant appraisal (by an appraiser who doesn''t also sell jewelry) and have it insured for that amount. That way, your premium is what it should be and when you lose one of those earrings, you can feel comfortable knowing that you''ll have the coverage to have the earring replaced. The purpose of an insurance policy is not to make money on a claim (this is what we call insurance fraud, no matter how innocently you go about it), it''s to get back where you were.

Anyway hope that wasn''t too reiterate-y. Just my extra couple cents, even tho I see you posted last on 1/31. Lots of people have insurance questions on here.