Chubb won''t insure me?@#!

[ringbling17]

Now that I have my baby, errh, ring that is, I want to have it insured.
Two weeks ago when I ordered the ring, the Chubb insurance broker I spoke to said it would cost me about $2.34/$100 of appraised value. This was more expensive than State Farm, but I figured it would be worth it in the long run, because in case something happened to the ring, I would much rather have the money given to me and purchase the ring where I want, rather than be told where to go and get something second best.
Today, after receiving my ring, I called the same Chubb broker with plans to have the ring insured as soon as possible, and this time he said that I could only insure the ring if I purchased my home owner''s policy with them and add it as a rider. I tried to call two other Chubb offices and they said the same thing.
Is this something new? Has anyone out there insured with Chubb without a Chubb''s home owner''s policy?
I got a quote on the cost to insure my home and my ring with Chubb, and it would cost me almost $1300 more to insure it with Chubb versus State Farm.
Is it worth the extra money to switch everything to Chubb just to insure my ring? Or should I just stick with State Farm?
Help, I need advice! I want to insure it as soon as possible so I can wear it and not worry about losing it, etc. Plus, I have a wedding to go to on 3/8.

 

[Mara]

Uh oh I will watch this thread with interest as I was going to call Chubb tomorrow to ask about insuring my ring and earrings. We don't own a house so wonder what they'll say. Guess we'll see...

 

[niceice]

State Farm will issue a Personal Articles Policy (PAP) on just the ring... We know that a lot of people havea poor opinion of how State Farm processes their claims, however our experience with them has been excellent. We used to provide jewelry replacement services for State Farm and it seems that the people who were disatisfied with their claims service were the ones who lacked proper documentation of their jewelry items. Thus if you are the type of person who has obtained an accurate appraisal of your ring and tends to keep good records of their purchases that you would probably be fine with State Farm. The biggest complaint people have with most insurance companies is that the companies only want to pay what they can replace the item for based on a similar like and kind type of comparison... The people who will have a problem with the replacement value determined by State Farm in this type of situation will be the people who insured a diamond ring with an appraisal that is vague like "one ladies 14k yellow gold and diamond solitaire style engagement ring containing a GIA Graded 1.03 carat, VS-2 clarity, G color, round brilliant cut diamond" because the claims adjuster can dance circles around this description and replace with "anything" that has paper matching that description... But insure an item described as "a 14k (stamped 14k) yellow gold and diamond solitaire style engagement ring weighing 3.2 grams and containing as a center stone (1) round brilliant ideal cut diamond graded by the GIA-GTL as weighing 1.03 carats and being of VS-2 in clarity and G in color with no fluorescence with excellent polish and symmetry set in a six prong white gold head. According to the GIA the diamond measures 6.50 - 6.52 x 3.96 mm and has a total depth of 60.3% with a 55% table diameter and a thin to medium, faceted girdle. Independent OGI MegaScope computerized proportions analysis indicates that the diamond has a crown angle of 34.5 degrees and a 40.7 degree pavilion angle. GIA Diamond Grading Report number 123456789 dated ******." leaves State Farm with little wiggle room... Make sure that the information on your appraisal is "complete" and make sure that the underwriter does not paraphrase the description of the item being insured so that the information becomes vague... Submit a copy of everything to your insurance agent with the understanding that they will forward it to underwriting and that underwriting will throw it out... Did you catch that? In the event of loss, the only person who is going to be able to produce a copy of what you actually had is you... Your agent and underwriting will likely have thrown the information out after they paraphrased the description and issued the policy... We've seen this time and time again... If you want to ensure an accurate replacement of your jewelry item, you must keep copies of everything... Insist on a diamond that really is comparable to what you had... The more complete the proportions information, the better your odds of really getting a comparable replacement or an accurate replacement value. If your diamond had a total depth of 60.3% a replacement with a total depth of 61.8% is not "comparable" IF you can prove that your original diamond had a total depth of 60.3%... These are facts best argued by a diamond dealer and not yourself by the way... We've argued many a case for and against State Farm but we were only able to do so if the customer or agent had the proper documentation... The road goes both ways by the way, a few years ago we provided a replacement quote on a three carat, F, VS-2, round brilliant that was chipped by the client... The replacement cost was about $10k less than the insured expected... The original diamond was not lab graded... The only documentation she had was an appraisal written by the jeweler who sold the item and a sales receipt... She didn't like our replacment quote and she threatened to sue us over it... Her attorney called and we explained it like this... "Do whatever you want, feel free to bring legal action against us, we'd love to countersue you and your client for frivolent litigation... You see your client insured a 3.02 carat, F color, VS-2 clarity diamond that was not lab graded... We've had a chance to evaluate that diamond for ourselves and to take photographs of the diamond using a variety of magnification... The reality is that the diamond is really a G color, SI-2 clarity diamond... We've explained this to State Farm and they could reject the claim because the description of the item is not accurate but that is not what they have elected to do... The replacement item we've located is a GIA Graded, 3.10 carat, F, VS-2 with Excellent polish and symmetry and zero ideal cut proportions... The fact that we're able to sell it for $10k less than the jeweler gauged your client from is not our fault and since we can document the quality of the replacement diamond and it clearly is better than the original diamond which was chipped, we're positive that the judge and jury will see that your client is merely trying to make money on this transaction as are you..." funny we never heard from either of them again... State Farm issued the lady a check and that was that... Documentation, it is the key to a successful claim... By the way, it's not a bad idea to have your insurance agent sign the copies of your appraisal, lab report and proportions analysis to indicate that they were provided with that information and issued a policy based on an item of that description...

 

[ringbling17]

Thank you for responding so fast NiceIce.
Mara you have to post what happens when you call Chubb!
I have the AGS certificates for all three stones that I purchased which lists the measurements similar to the Sarin report, I hope. Do I need to give a copy of that to State Farm? Plus, the appraisal that I was planning on using lists that all three diamonds are superideal, displays Hearts and Arrows effect, plus states that each diamond is not chipped or abraded, is in perfect condition. It lists the color, clarity and measurements of each diamond and list the setting seperately.
Is that good enough?

 

[justme]

I received the same thing (must buy your homeowners insurance too) from the local agents here in my city (I called 3 of them) so I called the Chubb office directly and there was no problem buying just a jewelry policy.

This lead me to believe that either the local agents are misinformed or trying to sell me more (their) insurance through them rather than handling just a jewelry account.

Call Chubb directly at 1-877-972-8282

Justme

 

[ringbling17]

I called the Chubb number you listed justme and they told me they are able to insure the ring without me purchasing any other policies.
Boy, are they expensive, though!
They quoted me $779 compared to $391 with State Farm! That's a huge difference!
The local broker I had spoken to quoted me $596 two weeks ago.
I guess I will do this for now.

 

[fire&ice]

Niceice, thank you for your most informative post. I find comfort in the fact that my appraisal is *very* specific and includes a copy of the cert.

 

[TomDaube]

Dear Kayla:

You may wish to contact Mike Smerkanich of Marsh Insurance (He sells Chubb insurance policies in the NY City area)at 212-345-6000. Chubb does not require you to have a home owners insurance policiy in many cases.

I have had experience in referring clients to him over many years. The feedback has always been positive.

 

[dirtysanchez]

I just called chubb at the number posted, they gave me a reasonable quote and told me if I fax the appraisal within 24hrs I would be insured today. Great service, great coverage and great price.

 

[Mara]

Just called Chubb and got the following information from them.

They are apparently the only insurance co for jewels that will just cut you a check as their standard policy, with no replacement restrictions or requirements.

They cover pretty much everything, an all-risks policy, with the following 4 exceptions:
-Intentional Harm
-Normal Wear and Tear
-War
-Nuclear Explosion

The last two are a little scary, but they noted that all other insurance co's have those two as exclusions as well (interesting). Normal wear and tear could be variable, but I confirmed with her that if I came to them in 10 years and my ring had a few tiny chips in it, that would be considered normal wear and tear and therefore would not be cause for a settlement (boo). So I will have to clarify that a little more..e.g. if I take a big chip out of the stone..how big does it need to be to get a settlement or replacement and what is the fine print on normal wear and tear as I am *sure* there is some.

They also build in a certain amount of inflation into their appraisals over time. So if we were to insure with them and pay the policy for 10 years with no policy update or contact, and then at year 10, the ring is lost or stolen, they will apparently give up to or around 50% additional on the original appraisal for inflation--IF we didn't get our appraisals updated. So for example if our ring insured for 10k, then if we needed a replacement at year 10 or similar, they may pay us around $15k. She said that the 50% is not a 'set' amount but rather accumulates over a period of time, etc..and again I am sure they have tons of fine print on this item as well that I will have to check out.

The woman on the phone was very nice...very informative. The quote they gave for $16k of coverage on my e-ring and my earrings was $304/yr.

I have also called back our State Farm rep and she is putting together a proposal as well for us with pricing and all the details...so then we will see what we are looking at. If we come down to a difference of say, $100 a year, I would probably go with Chubb due to their no-hassle policy (assuming wear and tear isn't a huge bucket of fine print that actually ends up covering nothing).

With what R/T said about State Farm, we are giving them a closer look as well...we may be able to use them after all..depending on how comfortable we feel.

R/T--in reading what you wrote over the last few threads on this subject, my concern stems mostly from the following a) our stone is not technically 'ideal', it rates as an AGS7 but has excellent spread and is one of the more attractive shallow larger tabled stones I have seen. Therefore...if the ring is stolen or lost, I don't want a rep saying..oh we'll just find another 61.4% table and 57% depth stone and that is that! We chose this stone for a reason, and I wouldn't trust someone else to choose a similar stone should we choose that route b) lets say that this ring is lost or stolen in 5 years (NO) and we have to settle. By that time, there may be new types of round cut stones out, or maybe I want an ACA stone instead of a stone like the one I had. Possibly, I'd rather take the $$ that we have been paying on for the last 5 years and upgrade my original stone to something larger that is excellently cut. We could take the original payout amount and add some money of our own, etc. With SF's 'return it to as it was' policy, that may not be an option. Or is it?

So in a way my concern is similar to those with H&A or ACA stones...our stone may not be technically branded, but in our eyes it is not your typical large tabled stone, so we wouldn't want someone's uneducated idea of a replacement--even at less of a cost to our insurance co. I understand that by keeping copies of our appraisal etc this will help, but in the event we decide we do not want the same stone, what are our chances of getting a check just because? This is where Chubb starts to look pretty attractive.

Confusing eh?!

 

[justme]

Mara,

Is the quote amount you wrote correct? 16K / $304?

As I posted I insured 26k (watch, ring & diamond, ring #2) and my yearly premium was $235.

If your post is correct then why the price difference?

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All,
I have Chubb insurance & even with the hike in premium, I chose to stay with them. Toronto has very little Ideal cut stones & I dont want some insurance company saying **they** will locate a stone for me. Who knows what I would get in that circumstance!
I too had trouble with some Chubb insurance people but luckily the store I bought my ring from had a contact for me to call & voila, my stone gets insured with Chubb, no problems.

Judy

 

[Gueneth]

I recently called Chubb to get a quote...and for a value of $22785, the agent quoted me $525. My home insurance quoted $432. But, again, they won't cut the check. I went with my home ins, but can change at anytime, and they'll prorate and refund the difference. But the Chubb agent stated that differences in premiums had to do with the geography. Apparently, in the Los Angeles/Orange County area of Calif, it's much higher. Still...as I read more about Chubb...the $100+ difference might be worth it.

 

[justme]

AHA! Geographical location makes total sense!

I live in Happy Valley, Wisconsin.


Low crime rate too!

 

[Mara]

Yeah we are in the Bayarea, CA (North CA)...expensive to live here..expensive to insure your jewelry I guess.

 

[greta2002]

----------------
On 3/7/2003 2:53:12 PM Mara wrote:

Just called Chubb and got the following information from them.

They are apparently the only insurance co for jewels that will just cut you a check as their standard policy, with no replacement restrictions or requirements.

----------------

I believe that Farmer's Insurance will also send a check without restrictions for damage, loss, theft of the article of jewelry (with the same exceptions as Chubb). Can anybody comment on this? I guess I should read the details of my policy, but I believe this is accurate.

Greta

 

[divergrrl]

Mara,

That wear and tear portion is suspicious to me. Diamonds can chip accidentally, you could get your hand slammed in a car door, etc. That's an awfully nice gray area. I'd check around some more. Your premium is a lot higher than mine (by twice as much) for the same dollar amount (new earrings to add to the kitty).

Just for giggles, check out Country Companies. See what they say.

Cheers!

 

[NoonersMom]

We are in the process of trying to determine the best company to go with for ER insurance. While doing a search on Chubb, this link came up. I thought it was worth revisiting.

We have homeowners through Farmers, but I don''t like the way their jewelry policy is stated. (I''m going to start looking at our homeowners policy as well.) I called an agent who advised that Chubb doesn''t sell a stand alone jewelry policy...that they require it as a group. In the post above it stated that isn''t the case. However the post is two years old. For those of you in the know, can you please advise if this is correct? If it''s not, can you please provide contact details for a Chubb representative that can assist us? Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

ETA - Leonid is it possible to create a dedicated insurance section somewhere? I realize we can do a search of past topics. However, with the large majority of people on the board buying an ER for the first time, I think this might be very helpful & comprehensive section. Food for thought.

~NM

 

[AndyRosse]

There have been a couple threads with specific agents'' contact information that are willing to write a separate policy, you just have to make sure they can do so in your area.

 

[Mara]

I don''t think an ''insurance section'' is required, rather if a few of the more comprehensive insurance threads could be moved into FAQ, that would be helpful.

There is no real definitive answer re: Chubb and who they will or will not insure. Some have been rebuffed and not been able to get insurance through them regardless of who they call. Some have managed to get a Chubb agent to insure them if they find the right one. I had Chubb insurance directly through Chubb 2+ years ago which they no longer DO...and when my policy came up for renewal and I let it lapse and then decided I still wanted it, they said no. Guess I kind of fell out of my ''grandfathered'' coverage when I let it lapse.

There have been other threads where someone did post a guy who supposedly WILL insure just jewelry through Chubb, but I don''t recall his name now.

As someone else noted, there are companies other than Chubb who will insure for cash payout, Aljdewey has one and seems happy so far.

 

[ame]

My lady here in St Louis said that chipping that garners replacement is one that would be deemed only repairable by a recutting, not by a simple polishing. If the prong won''t cover it, its covered by damage.

I believe I paid about 140ish, probably less for my ering, wedding band, ryans ring and my promise band.