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Appraisals for Insurance

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nobody

Rough_Rock
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Nov 7, 2007
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I have spent a lot of time to research/learn all I can on what makes a lump of coal so beautiful, skipping over the appraisal parts until now. Oh Boy, is there much information to digest.

Please keep in mind, I have never had anything appraised before and now looking for whom I should go to for this service.

I have read that the "HCA" for appraisers is to make sure that they are truly independent appraisers, they dont sell their own jewelry.

What I need to find is the "Ideal Scope" for appraisers. What to look for? (Credentials?, It seemed most have a list of credentials and associations. Equipment?, Many also have a list.) How do I know which one to pick?

I just had to start this thread after doing some research and found an example page of an appraisal report. The page number on the bottom of the page was 7 of 11. 11 freakin pages!! And this was supposedly on one ring.

Than there were some sample reports that were only 1 single page that just reflected what was on the Lab certifcation with an inflated value and a scribbled signature. Looked like a document my little brother could of done.


Now, a single page appraisal (Lab cert. reflection) may do for those that purchased from a mall without any research. But after spending months of research/learning, I would want an appraisal that would be more than just a lab cert reflection, if in the unfortunate event I would need to use my insurance. (I dont want the insurer to just give me any old stone that they deem "similar")

Could those that have received very in depth appraisals (such as the 11 pager) let me know Who did your appraisal?, What was included/done?, Approx. cost of Appraisal?, Would you use this appraiser again? If you could post your appraisal, that would be even better.

One more thing that I am pondering, Does it really matter to the Insurance company if you have a 11 page appraisal or a 1 page? Would they just treat it the same? Your replacement would be the one they choose unless you have an agreed payment/value type policy.
 
What I need to find is the 'Ideal Scope' for appraisers. What to look for? (Credentials?, It seemed most have a list of credentials and associations. Equipment?, Many also have a list.) How do I know which one to pick?

The IdealScope for appraisers is a scope callled Pricescope. The appraisers that frequent here survive hundreds of the toughest customers you'll find anywhere. Of course you'll find great appraisers elsewhere, but training and lots of initials don't guarantee anything. Reputation does and quite frankly I wouldn't care if Neil's only training was David Foard's appraiser home study course.
 
Thanks for the nice comment Stebbo.

The page count is not the most important thing about an appraisal but most of my pre-loss insurance appraisals are in that 10-12 page region so I suppose that makes me qualified to explain why.

For many people, the gestaldt of an appraisal can be boiled down to a single number. Everything else is fluff. Is it? Is all of this just a huge waste of paper?

All of that fluff normally will contains several important details that protect you in the case of an insurance claim.

1) Details about the exam. When it occurred, who was present, what tests were done and by whom, what equipment was used etc. The insurance company is agreeing to replace with ‘like kind and quality’ and the replacement piece must meet the same standards that were applied to the original. If you include Idealscope or ASET images as part of the standard, the replacement must meet or exceed that standard. Sarin results, brilliancescope results and any other standard that you apply in your shopping and that you want to be applied to the replacement should be present.

2) Details about the appraiser. Not all opinions are of equal merit. ‘Some guy’ says its G/VVS2 is an easy standard for the insurance company to comply with. Even if ‘some guy’ needs to be promoting themselves as an appraiser. An explanation of exactly why the opinion of your appraiser has merit locks in that merit. There are lots of capable gemologists in the jewelry industry but this doesn’t make them capable appraisers. The exercise of appraising is one of documentation more than one of gemology.

3) USPAP qualification statements. This includes a statements from the appraiser that they are not (or are) the seller, that they personally examined the piece (or not), that they are or are not relying on 3rd party information for any of the details, etc.

4) An explanation the scales being used. The appraisal report should stand on it’s own as a document. Terms like the ones generally used in diamond grading should be explained within the body of the report.

5) An explanation of the market being described. Where? When? Who? Is this the price you can expect from resale to a pawn shop or what you would expect to have to pay to get it custom made in Beverly Hills? These will not result in the same value conclusion.

6) ‘Limiting conditions’ is a section that describes important restrictions. Did the inspection happen in a hurry or was it in a dark room? Were the stones examined mounted or loose? Were they tested for exotic treatments like HPHT color annealing?

7) Photographs. I usually included quite a few and this is becoming more and more common among appraisers. This can be detail photos of the piece from various angles down to photomicrographs of the inclusions in the stone to make it easier to recognize a particular stone or to allow you to be picky about what will be acceptable in the replacement of your SI2. As any pricescope regular knows, some are decidedly better than others.

8) Supporting documents. The GIA grading report, the canadamark certificate, even the mounting manufacturers warranty card can be important issues for the ‘value’ of the piece. If you paid extra for Canadianness, for example, it’s only fair that the insurance company should replace it with another Canadian stone in the case of a loss. This certificate is your proof of that provenance and, by putting it in the appraisal report we are putting it into the insurance contract. It’s now part of the definition of ‘like kind and quality’. A genuine Leon Mege, for example, is not the same as a similar or identical design by another craftsman, even if the alternative is equally skilled. You paid for a Leon, you probably went through a fair amount of trouble to get it unless you happen to be one of his neighbors and it’s only fair that the company should replace with a genuine Leon. Anything that can be included to ‘prove’ this origin will improve your position at claims time.

There’s more but you get the idea. It makes you wonder how to fit it all in just 11 pages doesn’t it?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Thank you both for the responses. Anybody else have any input or care to post their appraisals and if they were happy with what they got.
 
Thanks for posting this question ... it''s a good one. I am anticipating having to ask the same questions in the near future and now you''ve done all the work, I''ll just see what you have been advised.
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Date: 11/29/2007 2:44:08 AM
Author: nobody
Did some more researching about appraisals... and found this very helpful post:

Appraiser Checklist(questions to ask the appraiser)
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/appraisers-especially-help-to-create-the-pricescope-checklist.37552/
Glad to hear you found it helpful.

What did you like about it?

How will you use it?



I liked question #18.

A question remains...and perhaps goes to the current thread on science. How far from the edge do you need to be to have confidence you''ve done due diligence at getting a well cut stone. Are reflector images enough. Your appraiser may not have to have the equipment to generate them, if they can read them well enough from the vendor...if supplied by them. Then again...if the appraiser is sensitive enough to read them well...how likely is it he will not have the equipment to generate them.

More narrowly...in past posts...I talked about AGS as being good enough for reporting on proportions, if you want to be guided by them, such that you can use any local appraiser to help you with a judgement about that. Probably around the time the linked post came out...GIA was coming forward with proportion data on their certs. There remained then, and continues to remain questions about how helpful that info is, based on their practices of rounding. Recently, there''s been some clarification in a post from JQ, and earlier, from JulieN....that such concerns are not too worrisome. But still...if you''re near a proportion "cliff"...do you want confirmation from a second run of the numbers. Unfortunately, the only appraiser of record, that I know of, who had a high level of equipment to do the sort of cyphering of proportions that you could consider it a genuine check...passed away in the last year. Only a small number of appraisers otherwise have proportion measuring equipment...and I don''t think any contemporary ones have the expensive stuff a small number of vendors do employ. So...I think you''re stuck with finding an appraiser with demonstrating sensitivity to cut. How you assess that to your satisfaction...is a reasonable question. The resources area here at top right does come aways to helping you assess, I think.

Say more?
 
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