advice on insuring an engagement ring??

[blushingnude]

i'm getting engaged soon (i know bc we had the ring made and the jeweler told us that it's ready lol) but what's your advice about insuring it??

Thank you~~~

 

[Tekate]

depends on it's price... insurance in itself is expensive.. I don't have my ring insured because the cost of insuring over several years would be replacement cost. BUT I do have platinum prongs.. white gold body.

 

[soxfan]

jewelers mutual.

 

[denverappraiser]

For most customers with a US address, insurance costs between 1-3% of your chosen limit. It varies from company to company, from state to state and even from neighborhood to neighborhood as well as with things like your own claims history and the presence of safes, alarms and the like in your home. Each policy is a little different.

The declared limit usually comes from the paperwork you submit and it can range from the transaction price to many times that and it depends on things like who wrote the appraisal and what standards they are using as well as variations that have to do with what you get.

Add those up and you get a range of insurance from 1% - 10% PER YEAR of the cost of your purchase depending on where you live and how you do it. That's a big range and it really can pay off to pay attention. Curiously, most people don't.

 

[kenny]

I "self insure".

I put what would be the premium in the bank.
Then if the ring is lost, damaged or stolen I use that savings account to replace it.
I do this with everything possible in my life.

I have never had to pay a claim to myself so all that money is just sitting in the bank.

Insurance is gambling.
You are betting there will be a loss.
The insurance company is betting there won't be.
But when they set the premium price they make sure the odds are with the house.

 

[denverappraiser]

Largely I agree with Kenny, and specifically the part about insurance being gambling and that the odds are stacked against you. That’s how insurance companies make profits and yes Virginia, they're making profits.

That said, I do think there are situations where it makes sense. First is if it significantly changes your behavior. If worry about loss causes you to leave the piece locked up in the bank instead of wearing it or it causes you to check your finger every 10 minutes for the rest of your life, buy the insurance. It’s a cheap upgrade to your life. The second is if you would be seriously less happy if you lost it, you can’t afford the cash flow implications of replacement, and you CAN afford the insurance.

This holds for pretty much all insurance, by the way, not just jewelry.

 

[heididdl]

we added a rider 0n 0ur h0mew0ners (sry 0 br0ke 0n keyb0ard) insurance f0r each piece 0f significant jewelry. Kenny has a p0int but if this is y0ur first maj0r piece 0f jewelry insure it

 

[slksapphire]

thanks for the data on insurance cost, denverappraiser.

i happened to live in an area where the cost of insuring my engagement ring would have cost 10% of the ring. put another way, if i didn't lose the ring for 10 years (which i haven't), i would have paid for another entire ring in insurance!

instead, i set my ring in a 6 prong platinum setting and have the prongs inspected every few years. i also do not take my ring off unless i put it in the safe. i even clean it with a toothbrush while it is on my finger. that way, i KNOW it won't go down the sink.

if insurance cost closer to 1% of cost, i would reconsider but generally i agree with kenny.

 

[maxs.memo]

I'm a firm believer that it's the costs that people don't expect that sink them financially. Insure the ring if it's expensive -- it can usually be tacked onto homeowners or renters insurance for a discounted price.

Just my opinion.

 

[WillyDiamond]

OP
I think you need to ask yourself the question that if the ring was lost/stolen would the out of pocket replacement cost to you be something that you can afford without a problem? Would it cause financial pain? I think it is reasonable to expect that diamond prices will continue to increase over the foreseeable future as they have done in the past.

One of the replies to your post said that they don't use insurance for anything that they have control over. The person said that he/she puts money in a bank account every year to cover this loss if it occurs. So lets examine this strategy. If the loss never occurs, then you win.
If a loss occurs in 20 years then you have the money in the bank plus interest to cover all or some of the loss. But what happens if the loss occurs early on, lets say within 6 months to 5 years, do you have enough in the bank plus interest to cover the loss? I think not. Well, as you guessed thats what insurance is all about, not knowing when or if, but insurance gives you the piece of mind that whenever or if ever a loss occurs the full pot of money, known as the benefit is available to you.

One does not know if they will lose a diamond ring, hey, we are just mortal. I don't think forum members can give you the answer you want in a definitive yes or no. It's what you are comfortable with. Best of luck.

 

[makhro82]

I look at it like any other insurance. I hate paying the premiums but if something were to happen I'm completely covered. My setting got damaged early on maybe two years or so after I received it. The whole thing needed to be remade. I called up the insurance company and they got in touch with the jeweler and discussed the situation. In a couple of weeks I had a nice check in the mail and it was done.

 

[denverappraiser]

thanks for the data on insurance cost, denverappraiser.

i happened to live in an area where the cost of insuring my engagement ring would have cost 10% of the ring. put another way, if i didn't lose the ring for 10 years (which i haven't), i would have paid for another entire ring in insurance!

instead, i set my ring in a 6 prong platinum setting and have the prongs inspected every few years. i also do not take my ring off unless i put it in the safe. i even clean it with a toothbrush while it is on my finger. that way, i KNOW it won't go down the sink.

if insurance cost closer to 1% of cost, i would reconsider but generally i agree with kenny.

If you don't mind my asking, where are you?

 

[slksapphire]

when i was engaged (about 13 years ago), i lived in new york city.

 

[denverappraiser]

when i was engaged (about 13 years ago), i lived in new york city.

Manhattan is the most expensive place in the country, although downtown LA gives them a pretty good run for it. In general, big cities have higher rates than more rural or suburban places. If you move to beautiful Fargo ND you'll get lower rates.

http://www.fargomoorhead.org/ Always warm.