Appraisals and insurance

[Gorp512]

Hello all,

A recent post was interesting as it brought up insurance and in-store appraisals that value pieces at twice their cost. This reminded me of many experiences of close friends (non PSers) who rave about the great deals they are getting for rings .

I'm looking for an appraisal soon hopefully by a PS listed, appraisal only business. Could someone speak more as to what I should be looking for in an appraiser? More than wanting to have gotten a good deal, I want to know I got a good diamond . Just peace of mind and an up and up quality experience .

 

[Gorp512]

I realized I never asked my major question!

If I get an appraisal from the store and one from an independent appraiser, which should I use for insurance purposes?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Insure it for 10% over the price of what you paid.

 

[TweetyBird23]

Insure it for 10% over the price of what you paid.

Why specifically 10%, Dancing Fire? Nevertheless, I wish I followed this advice last year. I insured a ring for the sale price and couldn't find a comparable replacement (ctw) without paying out of pocket.

 

[sledge]

Honestly I don't know if 10% would be the correct amount. No two diamonds are truly identical and it may be very difficult to find something that makes you just as happy. Also, costs fluctuate and prices raise over time.

I guess depending on the value of your ring, I may or may not have a problem with an appraisal at 2x the value.

Having bought different policies on my firearms there isn't really much of a difference in premium between a policy for $10k or $20k. I do over insure my weapons, but many of them are units I have custom built and would be hard to go into the marketplace and truly replace. Also, I have several that are no longer imported and consequently prices have risen dramatically.

Sorry I don't have a name for you. I just switched from State Farm to Liberty Mutual for my homeowner insurance, and both places have addenda you can add for weapons, jewelry, etc. Costs are minimal, a few hundred bucks per year.

 

[Lorelei]

I realized I never asked my major question!

If I get an appraisal from the store and one from an independent appraiser, which should I use for insurance purposes?

Get an independent appraisal and that will give you a better idea as the ones that come with a jewellery piece from the store are often vastly inflated to make the buyer feel they've got a deal. This is usual, it's better to get a realistic appraisal for insurance purposes from an independent appraiser so you pay for what the item's actually worth should you need to replace it. Then you can get it updated every so often.

Jewelers Mutual are pretty good from what I hear.

 

[sledge]

Get an independent appraisal and that will give you a better idea as the ones that come with a jewellery piece from the store are often vastly inflated to make the buyer feel they've got a deal. This is usual, it's better to get a realistic appraisal for insurance purposes from an independent appraiser so you pay for what the item's actually worth should you need to replace it. Then you can get it updated every so often.

Jewelers Mutual are pretty good from what I hear.

FYI, for determining your TRUE value, I wholeheartedly agree with using an independent appraiser. When it comes to insurance value, I may want to go a little above that for reasons already stated. However, I am not certain how specific jeweler insurers do that as I've just always carried an addendum to my homeowners and I can set those values to my liking.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Why specifically 10%, Dancing Fire? Nevertheless, I wish I followed this advice last year. I insured a ring for the sale price and couldn't find a comparable replacement (ctw) without paying out of pocket.

I was assuming that you can replace most jewelry items if you insure it for 10% above what you paid.

 

[GolfingGreen]

Insurance is a two-edged sword. I had a lot of items insured earlier in my life thinking “how great, if I lose anything, I can get a replacement”. But to get that replacement is not “free” as you pay premiums annually. Now I have backed down to only insuring things I absolutely would not immediately replace if I lost them

Insurance is usually 1-1.5% of the total value. If your total insured pieces are say $50K, at 1%, then in 10 years, you would have paid $5K in insurance premiums.

If you do insure a piece, I agree with @Dancing Fire to go a bit higher unless you know you can replace your piece for a specific retail price (Rolex Watch). Also check for inflation adjustments as well(or resubmit an appraisal every 5 years or so) to make sure your piece is adjusted.

Good luck!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Insurance is usually 1-1.5% of the total value. If your total insured pieces are say $50K, at 1%, then in 10 years, you would have paid $5K in insurance premiums.

In my case is like 2.7% of the total value, so what should I insure my watches or her rings? ...

. Heck, after a few yrs I can buy me a nice 1ct stone with the insurance premiums.

 

[GolfingGreen]

In my case is like 2.7% of the total value, so what should I insure my watches or her rings? ...

. Heck, after a few yrs I can buy me a nice 1ct stone with the insurance premiums.

Yup! Totally agree... that's why I stopped going crazy insuring! After 5 years, think of what you could have bought! It's funny you mentioned... watches or rings... I used to do both. I stopped insuring all the watches. So... no watches, but tell her if you lose or break your watch, you get to replace it immediately!

 

[GolfingGreen]

@Dancing Fire Now you made me think what is my exact percent... I'm going to email my insurance guy and find out! Inquiring minds want to know how badly I'm throwing money away.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Yup! Totally agree... that's why I stopped going crazy insuring! After 5 years, think of what you could have bought! It's funny you mentioned... watches or rings... I used to do both. I stopped insuring all the watches. So... no watches, but tell her if you lose or break your watch, you get to replace it immediately!

Yeah, so which watch should I insure?..

if I own more than one watch. I can only wear one watch at a time,so I just go to the bank safety box and switch watches if I decided to wear a different watch for the next few months.

 

[GolfingGreen]

Yeah, so which watch should I insure?..

if I own more than one watch. I can only wear one watch at a time,so I just go to the bank safety box and switch watches if I decided to wear a different watch for the next few months.

The one that is the most expensive that you can't replace immediately! Or is that her ring? She may get mad if she loses her un-insured ring and doesn't get an equivalent replacement! So... maybe you need to insure both the watches and rings and keep overpaying for insurance!

It really is insane if you think about it. I went to see the Elizabeth Taylor jewelry auction and at that moment, it just dawned on me how much her insurance premium must have been, assuming she insured it... but who knows if these uber wealthy billionaires need to insure like us laymen.