Another newbie question... insurance? I''m confused...

[HavocBride]

I was reading some other topics on this and yet am still confused...

In what circumstance would you recommend insurance? Do most of you insure your engagement rings?

I''m a very responsible person as far as that sort of thing goes... I can''t imagine I would put my ring somewhere I would forget it, or wear it somewhere it could be lost, or even put it somewhere someone would be able to steal it (unless they cut my finger off, I suppose...)

But then I think, I also am a responsible driver, but I still have car insurance "just in case"!

And where could I even start LOOKING for insurance for an engagement ring, exactly? On a whim, I checked through my home owner''s insurance, but there really wasn''t much about specific items... there was insurance for an entire jewelry collection (like in case of theft or natural disaster), but nothing about one specific piece... I didn''t spend a LOT of time looking, though, so maybe I missed it? Is there a such thing as a jewelry insurer?

 

[dssxxxx]

There is Jewelers Mutual.

Or your homeowners.

We have riders for specific items and also a rider for $50K that travels with us for jewelry that we are wearing (watches, earrings, etc.) in case of lose/theft. We have one rider for wifes ER and one for 1 of my Rolex''s.

 

[divergrrl]

I just went through this with my stone replacement (it was gouged/chipped)

I have a separate rider on my home owners Insurance through Country Companies. To insure a ring valued at 10k, it was $70 a year.

The only problem with this, is that if you have a claim, it goes against your homeowner''s policy.

Not a big deal on claim #1, but if a tree falls through my roof or some other catastrophe affecting my home, I could be dropped.

Not so good. And I did lose a diamond stud a week after I placed my claim on my ring, but I chose not to file a claim for that. It was a poor quality .48 carat princess cut stone & I''d rather pay to replace it than have my rates raised. Besides, I found the earring back in my closet, so I''m hopeful the stud turns up.

I''m going to insure my newly reset ring through Jeweler''s Mutual this time, as well as my other items. It costs twice as much in premiums, but at least a claim won''t affect my home, auto, or life insurance policies.

My feeling on insurance is, get it for large ticket items you cannot afford to replace.

One thing about insurance that irritates me is the wording.

I paid insurance premiums on a 10k ring, (my old stone was appraised at $7200 for "Retail Replacement Value") yet, when I filed my claim, I was only allowed "like kind and quality" and even though I paid premiums on another amount for 9 years, my actual payout was thousands less.

Had I not known of PS and GOG, I might not have done as well with the replacement stone, but as it stands, I got a much nicer stone (same size, better color & cut) within the insurance payout.

I guess I''m just irritated that they can charge $$$ on one figure, yet payout on another. Seems like insurance voodoo to me & they are all like that. Even Jewelers Mutual.

 

[divergrrl]

Oh and even if you feel you are responsible with a ring, and wouldn''t lose it, you will take it off (I do when using harsh chemicals, doing heavy chores, working with raw meat in the kitchen, putting on hand lotion) and even though I have a bezel setting around my diamond, this sucker got gouged to DEATH. and I mean bad. I''ll see if I can post a picture....

So even if you are careful (and I honestly do not know how this happened--I''ll also post a pic of my damage with the stone set in my ring) things happen. I don''t have that kind of $$ laying around to replace a ring with. I have small kids, a home, college tuitions to save for, and forking out $10k to replace my ring if its lost/stolen/damaged would be hard on me.

 

[divergrrl]

Here is what the damage looked like when my old stone was in my setting. And bezels are supposedly the hardiest setting since the edges aren''t exposed (you can knock your hand on something hard & chip a stone, diamonds are hard, but they aren''t indestructible) and I do not recall hitting my hand on anything.

I do have granite tile countertops though, that''s the only thing I can think of.

 

[Jim Summa]

Its a real good idea on everyday jewelry. It is like your car insurance, there is risk even if you are careful.
Jewelers Mutual will cover you for mysterious disappearance, loss, damage, and theft.
I see you are posting under "HavocBride" so maybe insurance protection would be good,for piece of mind. You can always cancel it later.

 

[winternight]

I use Chubb insurance for my jewelry including my e-ring. Mainly its for travel/theft, but also just in case the diamond gets damaged. For me its worth the piece of mind, but some people prefer to self-insure - that is just replace the ring if something happens.

 

[HavocBride]

@divergrrl: My heavens, that''s awful what happened to your ring! I hope everything has worked out for the best after that!

@Jim: The name is in reference to my future surname, actually. No hidden messages.

Thank you everyone, for recommending JM - I''ll be looking into it!

 

[yssie]

I have JM. I haven''t had to make a claim (thank goodness!) but changing addresses, info, policy ownership, articles insured, etc. has been very easy.



My policy renewal is coming up... I''m almost tempted not to, as I''m very careful about keeping it safe, but... I know I will - or I know I''ll come home and one of the cats will have eaten it, or something. Murphy''s Laws and all that.