Chubb agent for standalone policy < $10k?

[tevyk]

Anyone know of a Chubb agent who will write me a standalone policy for a ring valued at <$10k in NC?

I called Bill Castro at Total Dollar, on the advice of *many* previous posters. He told me Chubb has recently started to refuse to issue standalone jewelery policies. Bill said he''d call me if anything changed within the next week or two, but it didn''t sound promising. The typical reaction here to that response has been ''They''re lying and just don''t *want* to. Give Bill Castro a call'' =/

IIRC, Dave Stone, the other agent who was also previously highly recommended, is no longer writing standalone jewelery policies either.

I called Touchstone, who said that Chubb requires a $10k minimum. My out of pocket cost to Whiteflash for my gf''s e-ring will be in the 5-7k neighborhood. I''m sure it''tal appraise a bit higher than that, but probably not up to $10k ... and I''d really rather just pay the premium on my purchase price.

I was quoted (more like a ''rough guess'') $120-$130/year for $10k coverage by Touchstone, so Chubb in my area is pretty affordable. For comparison, Jeweler''s Mutual is $110 on $10k. Given the minuscule annual premium difference combined with the re-appraisals necessary with JM, Chubb is pretty clearly the better deal in my area -- if I can get it.

Anyone know of other agents that''ve been willing to do this?

 

[kcgunesq]

Is it that they won't write the policy for any single item worth less than $10k or they won't write a policy for under $10k total coverage? I ask because you might be surprised how little jewelry it takes to get to $10k. My wife and I thought it would be more than enough, but we quickly found we needed more. If you have a e-ring that you paid $6k for online, plus a couple of plat wedding bands (or gold school rings, pearls, etc), you may well have more than the $10k appraisal threshold.

I was quoted 1.3% for Chubb if I recall correctly. State Farm charges 1% for a no deductible separate jewelry policy that pays in case of any loss, including theft, loss, damage, etc. The SF policy is NOT a home owners rider (which typically only pays for certain types of losses and is subject to a deductible). Chubb may be slightly more generous with regard to paying appraised amount vs what they calculate as the replacement cost, but the premium is 30% more. At least this is what I found.


ETA: After re-reading your post, I'm not sure what you mean by "stand alone". Do you mean for a single item or not in combination with another line of coverage, e.g., homeowners? I took you to mean the latter.

Also, I'm not sure you want to pay your premium only on your purchase price. It might limit you to how much you have available to replace your ring should you lose or damage it and prices have risen, or if you simply can't find anything comparable for a similar price. Maybe Denver Appraiser can give a better explanation.

 

[tevyk]

Is the State Farm policy a cash-out policy or replacement like most others?

Regarding Touchstone''s $10k minimum, they weren''t 100% clear, but I took it to mean total coverage rather than $10k minimum *per item* that''s covered -- that would just be silly.

However, I really don''t think I have that much worth of jewelery. I''ve only got maybe .. two, $50-100 watches? I doubt gf''s current jewelery holdings amount to more than $1000.

I would imagine that after purchasing both bands and such, the total value would be plenty for Chubb, but that''ll be a year+ from now.

By "stand alone" I meant that I don''t have (or need) renter''s/auto/whatever insurance with Chubb -- your assumption was correct.

While I probably *would* insure the ring for a bit more than my actual purchase price, I''m not sure I''d go all out and insure it for the full *retail* appraisal value. Though I''ll have to see what that comes back as.

 

[denverappraiser]

Touchstone brokers for Chubb, which has a $10k minimum for the combined value of the items on the policy, not for each individual. They also broker for Gemshield by XL, which is a replacement type policy with no minimum.

State Farm offers only replacement type policies.

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

 

[tevyk]

Neil,

The 10k minimum is universal for Chubb, and not just another bit of misinformation that''s being spread akin to the ''no standalone policies'' thing?

Thanks for the info

 

[denverappraiser]

The majority of Chubb agents won’t write a stand alone jewelry policy at all. Minimum or not. I think it has to do with the commission structure and it’s just not worth the agent’s trouble. It’s pretty much the same amount of work to write a $200k policy as it is to write one for $5k but the pay is a whole lot better. The folks at Touchstone seem to be taking the position that good clients often start out with smaller deals as a way of testing the water before they insure their Rolls Royce collection and they try to accommodate as many clients as they can. I suspect this is a loss leader for them as it is in the hopes that it’ll help build their client base. I’ve never seen an agency that offers lower than the $10k minimum but to answer your question, no I don’t think it’s mandated by the company. I suspect a call to the underwriting department would get you a straight answer but they aren''t going to want to make their agents look bad so they may saccharine coat it.

For quite a while there was a promotion at Blue Nile where you could get a Chubb policy on anything you bought from them right as an add-on sale at the time you bought the ring, regardless of price. They seem to have stopped doing that and it wouldn’t apply to your situation in any case but that’s an example of where the company would write a policy below that minimum. They now seem to want to promote Jewelers Mutual and this may very well be part of the reason. JM has no minimum.

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

 

[kcgunesq]

Date: 5/14/2008 3:29:59 PM
Author: denverappraiser

State Farm offers only replacement type policies.


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

Neil,

I know you are correct about the replacement type policy. But I''ve been told that if one is rigid enough about insisting on a replacement that meets or exceeds every aspect of the damaged/lost diamond, they will sometimes/often end up offering cash

Is this consistent with your understanding? For example, if I insisted that my replacement have exactly 1:1.32 l/w, and at least Med Blue in addition to having at least as good pol/sym/depth/etc, is it likely that they will actually be able to find an identical stone? And if not, will they insist I wait until they do or do you think/know they will just cut me a check?