Claims Question - Lost Ring

[thegoat]

My wife and I have JM insurance for her diamond engagement ring. About 2 months ago she lost it and JM replaced it in a jiffy. They were terrific and she had her new ring in no time. The total payout by them to the jeweler was $10,500.

When she got her new ring, we upgraded and of course, paid the difference out of pocket. Her new now appraised for $18500 from a reputable pricescope vendor.

She was in love with her new ring and setting as it was gorgeous and exactly what she wanted.

Now the problem.....she lost her ring again! It is a very serious problem as she is devastated that she could do something so careless in less than two months.

We have scoured the house, the car and all of our closets and cabinets only to be disappointed. I am now faced with the task of having to submit another claim to JM within such a short period of time and to be quite honest, I am worried about how they will treat us and think of us.

I''m sure we won''t be renewed again but I''m embarrassed to call them to report a new claim within 2 months for such a large sum and how they will portray us. I don''t care about an investigation as Im sure it may be protocol but does anyone, especially a claims person, have any idea how they will treat an honest claim in such a short time span from a previous one?

My wife feels that she doesnt even want to submit the claim fearing to be labeled some kind of fraudster and Iully understand her but we paid the difference in the premium and the insurance is in force...so I will submit the claim and be prepared for any type of investigation that may be forthcoming so we have nothing to hide.

Any input?...........Thanks!

 

[denverappraiser]

Submit the claim. That’s what you are paying them for. You’re probably right that you will get escalated to a different department and they may ask a few more through questions but that’s just them doing their due diligence. They should treat you and ALL clients with respect and, assuming that the adjuster finds it to be a valid claim, they should pay out with the same level of courtesy as last time. They gave you good service once and have demonstrated that they value you as a client. Don’t assume that they won’t do it again. If you’ve got a valid claim, you’ve got nothing to feel bad about. Again, that’s what you’re paying them for.

If they choose not to renew you, that’s their call, just like it’s your call to decide that you don’t want them. They have lots of competitors. It makes no sense to pay for insurance if you’re not going to file a claim when you have a loss.

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

 

[Muss]

I am very very sorry to hear this rash of bad times for you. I can only imagine how your poor wife must be feeling.

My opinion is to file the claim, worst case is you get a hassle, but in the end you are paying them for a reason and if they are going to continue to take your money then they need to continue to replace your property.

On the plus side (if you can call it that) I am awaiting delivery of a ring that I am going to insure through JM so I am happy to hear your first claim went so smoothly, and please keep us updated with this issue.

good luck!

 

[LegacyGirl]

Your poor wife!! I hope it all works out again!

 

[Ellen]

Could anyone have taken it? Do you have a cleaning person? Gardener? Anybody?

 

[sna77]

Dude,
Tell your wife to stop taking the ring off! Or maybe you can have lojack installed in the next one.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 4/29/2008 9:41:10 PM
Author: Ellen
Could anyone have taken it? Do you have a cleaning person? Gardener? Anybody?

That is what I was thinking too. How did your wife lose it twice? Is she normally forgetful?

 

[arjunajane]

Hello,
I''m sorry to hear of this, you both must be so stressed! It does seem a little strange - Is there a chance someone could''ve taken it?

I do work for an insurance co, I''m not a claims officer though. And I am in Australia, so not sure if things work differently. Basically we have alot of principles we have to abide by, and one of those is "utmost confidence". That means we always believe the member, unless we have a real reason not to.
As your claim is genuine, I don''t feel you have anything to be concerned or embarassed about.

As usual, Neil has given very good advice - You pay your premiums for exactly this reason. It wouldn''t make sense not to make a claim. Sure, you may have an higher XS imposed from a future insurer, but hopefully this will be the last one you have to make for a while!

I say make the claim asap and put your insurance premiums to work!
I hope it all gets resolved quickly.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Oh dear, that really is a shame! I agree, file the claim. Do not be embarrassed! Afterall, they don''t think feel embarrassed making you pay every month when you don''t file claims...that is what you are paying for!

 

[diamondfan]

Make sure she has a nice safe spot for her new ring and that she gets in the habit of putting it in the same place each night. I take my stuff off at night and even when I cannot recall having done it, I do put my stuff in the same place.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 4/29/2008 8:39:59 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Submit the claim. That’s what you are paying them for. You’re probably right that you will get escalated to a different department and they may ask a few more through questions but that’s just them doing their due diligence. They should treat you and ALL clients with respect and, assuming that the adjuster finds it to be a valid claim, they should pay out with the same level of courtesy as last time. They gave you good service once and have demonstrated that they value you as a client. Don’t assume that they won’t do it again. If you’ve got a valid claim, you’ve got nothing to feel bad about. Again, that’s what you’re paying them for.

If they choose not to renew you, that’s their call, just like it’s your call to decide that you don’t want them. They have lots of competitors. It makes no sense to pay for insurance if you’re not going to file a claim when you have a loss.

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

Ditto, I lost mine and now I only put it in one spot so I do not loose it again. The 1st time was too tramatic.

 

[mandielee]

I am considering a small, digital combo safe for my jewelry, now that I have a nice little engagement ring on its way; something small enough to sit on my dresser, quick enough to open that I won''t be tempted to skip using it when I''m getting ready for bed, but certain enough that if my jewelry is indeed missing, there''s likely foul play involved.

Something like this might be in order:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Digital-Locking-Steel-3035D/dp/B000MPO6OY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1209557294&sr=8-7

Would it prevent determined theft or convince JM to insure you again? Absolutely not; someone can pick it up and walk away! However, it might help prevent absentmindedness, clumsiness or casual theft. In fact, since my dresser is a 100 EUR ($120 at the time) job from Ikea and therefore not likely to become a precious heirloom, I will probably get my fiance to bolt the safe to it!

If you''re certain enough that the ring is gone that you can file a police report with a clear conscience, then you should go ahead and file your insurance claim.

 

[thegoat]

Thanks for all of your supporting comments.

Yes, it is careless what happened and we are going to wait another couple of days to make certain the ring is definitely lost.

It''s a funny thing....you live your life always trying to do the right thing and not to be indiscreet and then something like this happens and you think of the people that just may do something devious and criminal and hope that no one characterizes you in the same mold.

Like I said in earlier posts, JM were simply fabulous and cooperative for our previous loss and they paid the vendor direct so that I just had to pay the difference in the upgrade.

Looks like I will go back to my favorite vendor and tell him it happened all over again.

And yes, you are all correct about submitting the claim and not feeling any less of ourselves because of this unfortunate situation.

In a couple of days after tearing my house apart again I will report it to the police, get my report # from them and submit the claim and not be on the defense but expect them to pay the claim as per the conditions of our insurance contract.

I will keep you updated .

The "Goat"

 

[EmeraldCutQuest]

What a pain and hassle -- I feel for you and your wife.

From an insurance point of view, they set their rates based on a number of things, but basically, it''s how many insured out of 1,000 will file a claim (and for how much). Let''s just assume (for argument''s sake) that it is 10 claims. Is it possible that of those 10, two will come from the same person? Sure it is! Unlikely, but possible. They may want to check a little deeper the second time around, but for them, if everything is kosher, there is little difference if there are 10 different claimants with one claim each, or one claimant with 10 claims! It''s just a numbers ''game'' for them.

--ECQ (no longer).

 

[thegoat]

Got a call from an insurance adjust last night (SUNDAY EVENING!)....apologized for the late call and told me he represented JM and neede to come to my home to get a sworn recorded statement from my wife regarding the loss.

I guess this is

protocol since the loss is almost $20,000 and second in such a short period of time.

I will update.

The Goat

 

[purrfectpear]

Twice in two months for $20K...just be glad he didn''t put her on the polygraph

 

[2Artists]

Best luck in your ordeal. We will be on pins and needles to see how it goes.

 

[Rhea]

I''d have been scared too (and probably attempted to bride DH into submitting the claim for me). I''m glad that they are handling it well so far. Do keep us updated.

 

[thegoat]

Seems like JM saw that this was a legit claim and as of today, have authorized my replacement for the appraisal value.

To preface this, my wife and I received a phone call from an adjuster telling us that he needed to interview us and that it had to be in person. He came over, extremely gracious and polite as he was, and tape recorded the entire interview of my wife explaining the details leading up to the loss and also asking questions regarding the prior loss as well. The same questions were asked many times over using a barrage of different tactics but our honesty and truthfullness was never questioned during this interview.

Later, we had to have a statement of the interview signed and notarized and copy of our cell phone records confirming what we stated in the interview about how my wife called me as soon as she discovered it was missing.

There is no fine line between insurance fraud and carelessness, which my wife was guilty of and JM saw this and did not hesitate to replace the ring a second time in 2 months.

We are now going make certain that this new ring is going to be given different handling from day one and that both my wife and I are more careful and caring as to its whereabouts at all times.

So for all that are looking for a good, reliable insurance carrier for their jewelry, this is the best review and advertisement I can offer ( even though I''m certain I will not be renewed by them).

Any questions to help you guys out, shoot...I am very happy with the outcome not only because we were authorized the replacement but because never was our integrity questioned.