Engagement Ring Insurance Question-Input Welcome :o)

[DiamondRascal]

Hi Everyone

)
I just had a quick question...My BF hasn''t popped the question just yet, but it is coming VERY soon! We wanted to have the insurance put on the ring asap since it is finally finished and in his possesion. I spoke with my insurance rep today and he suggested since we are both planning on still living at home for awhile to save, that we might want to do a "Personal Articles Policy." He explained that the policy covered everything from damages to theft/loss of the ring. The policy seemed pretty comprehensive and all that isnt covered is if it is lost during war, a customs seizure or nuclear hazard...YIKES! lol He explained that it is considered an "all risk policy." Since I have no expeirence with insuring things yet, I thought I''d float it past you guys

) Any input is very much appreciated as well as anything i should be sure to look for within the policy. Does anyone have experience with this type of policy? Thanks everyone!!!

 

[DiamondRascal]

Any thoughts?

 

[vinkalmann]

Just having gone through this recently, here''s what I learned:

The insurance agent will ask you what you the amount you want to insure the ring for. People usually will give them the "appraisal" price of the ring versus the amount that was actually paid for the ring.

When rings are appraised, the amount typically comes in much higher than the amount paid. It almost seems that this is done to make people feel better about the ring/stone, but who knows. Supposedly the appraised amount is the amount that it would take to replace the ring at retail cost.

People mistaking think that if a ring is insured for $5000 and gets lost, that they will get a check from the insurance company for $5000. They won''t. If the ring is lost, the insurance company will replace the ring with something of like value. The insurance companies often have agreements with the ring wholesalers to offer a replacement at the same or less than you paid for it.

The moral of the story is, insure the ring for the amount that was paid for it and not the appraised amount. The premiums will be lower.

I got this information from an insurance agent and it was also confirmed by the research I did on the web at the time.

I think it''s a good idea to insure the ring. It would be awful if you lost it, but not nearly as bad as if you lost it and couldn''t get a replacement.

 

[So Excited]

Hello,
I think that the insurance is an essential if you have a substantial amount of money into the ring and can justify the premium. I just a ring and its amount insured for is $13,000 - my premium is $92/year under the personal articles policy.

As for the replacement policy, I think it must depend on your insurance company as my insurance company DOES write out a check to me for my "appraised value" that they have the paperwork showing it is appraised for if I lose my ring. (I actually had this happen with one of my other pieces of jewelery and they sent me a check within a week of my reporting it lost for the total appraised amount from 8 months earlier)

If I lose a stone, I just have to go to the jeweler and they write me an appraisal for the amount of money that I have in a loss and take a picture and once I turn that into the insurance company I get a check for that amount so I can have my ring fixed to be just like new.

 

[soontowed]

Date: 12/30/2009 10:12:47 PM
Author: vinkalmann
Just having gone through this recently, here''s what I learned:

The insurance agent will ask you what you the amount you want to insure the ring for. People usually will give them the ''appraisal'' price of the ring versus the amount that was actually paid for the ring.

When rings are appraised, the amount typically comes in much higher than the amount paid. It almost seems that this is done to make people feel better about the ring/stone, but who knows. Supposedly the appraised amount is the amount that it would take to replace the ring at retail cost.

People mistaking think that if a ring is insured for $5000 and gets lost, that they will get a check from the insurance company for $5000. They won''t. If the ring is lost, the insurance company will replace the ring with something of like value. The insurance companies often have agreements with the ring wholesalers to offer a replacement at the same or less than you paid for it.

The moral of the story is, insure the ring for the amount that was paid for it and not the appraised amount. The premiums will be lower.

I got this information from an insurance agent and it was also confirmed by the research I did on the web at the time.

I think it''s a good idea to insure the ring. It would be awful if you lost it, but not nearly as bad as if you lost it and couldn''t get a replacement.

This is not entirely true. Find a policy that can be written as agreed value - policeis written as agreed value gets you what you insure it for. If you insure it for 25K they''ll replace it with 25K. This is also better for big name jewelry like Tiffany''s or Cartier since you''ll want to ensure you''ll get your designer jewelry replaced with designer jewelry.

Contact a broker rather than an agent, they''ll be able to tell you which insurance companies will write a policy as agreed value.

 

[Roxie Bling]

As was mentioned previously, I think each insurance is different. My ring was stolen, and my insurance paid the full appraisal amount. However, I was got engaged 15 years ago, and I assumed the policy would included inflation. It did not. I got the amount that the ring was appraised for 15 years ago, which is not what it would cost now. I believe there are policies that include inflation, but if do not get one of those, the advice I was given was to get your ring reappraised every 3 years. I will plan to do that for my next ring.

ps: You might want to post this in a different topic than "show me the ring" to get more responses.

 

[blondie23]

Date: 12/30/2009 10:46:40 PM
Author: soontowed

Date: 12/30/2009 10:12:47 PM

Author: vinkalmann

Just having gone through this recently, here''s what I learned:


The insurance agent will ask you what you the amount you want to insure the ring for. People usually will give them the ''appraisal'' price of the ring versus the amount that was actually paid for the ring.


When rings are appraised, the amount typically comes in much higher than the amount paid. It almost seems that this is done to make people feel better about the ring/stone, but who knows. Supposedly the appraised amount is the amount that it would take to replace the ring at retail cost.


People mistaking think that if a ring is insured for $5000 and gets lost, that they will get a check from the insurance company for $5000. They won''t. If the ring is lost, the insurance company will replace the ring with something of like value. The insurance companies often have agreements with the ring wholesalers to offer a replacement at the same or less than you paid for it.


The moral of the story is, insure the ring for the amount that was paid for it and not the appraised amount. The premiums will be lower.


I got this information from an insurance agent and it was also confirmed by the research I did on the web at the time.


I think it''s a good idea to insure the ring. It would be awful if you lost it, but not nearly as bad as if you lost it and couldn''t get a replacement.

This is not entirely true. Find a policy that can be written as agreed value - policeis written as agreed value gets you what you insure it for. If you insure it for 25K they''ll replace it with 25K. This is also better for big name jewelry like Tiffany''s or Cartier since you''ll want to ensure you''ll get your designer jewelry replaced with designer jewelry.


Contact a broker rather than an agent, they''ll be able to tell you which insurance companies will write a policy as agreed value.

AGREED! My Cartier engagement ring was recently lost. I went with Chubb insurance (highly recommend BTW) and I got a cash payout for the insured amount.

After my experience I will forever praise the benefits of a cash payout option for insurance!!

 

[Gemgalkb]

I am new to the forum, but have to chime in....do NOT EVER tell your insurance agent how much you paid for the stone and/or ring, if you got a great deal. I made this mistake with a pair of 1.5 ctw studs that were appraised for $6k. I paid significantly less. When I bought them I wanted to get them insured but hadn''t had time for the appraisal. They said I could appraise them immediately for the purchase price if I would fax them the receipt, but when I came back with the appraised value, they refused to insure them stating that if I got a great deal once, I could get a great deal again. That maikes me think that they would have written a check for the full appraised value and realized that people would pocket the difference between purchase price and appraised value.

Just my experience.

 

[DiamondRascal]

Thank you SO MUCH!!! You guys are great! I hadnt thought at all about how I would be compensated should something happen. I will be researching different insurance companies to call Monday and find out about their policies.I definately WANT to go with an agency that doesn''t make me replace my ring with one of their vendors!

Much rather have a check in hand to go replace it with! And thank you for the suggestion to post in a different forum. I''m so used to always coming to this one that it didn''t even occure to me. Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!!! I''m so grateful for this great community of helpful people! You have all educated me so much!

 

[DrJuju]

Hi Everyone-

Just want to vent a little here and see if there is anyone else who has experienced anything similar.

Ok, so I initially got engaged with a gorgeous one carat princess cut set with another carat of round side stones. We got the one carat because the jeweler did not have anything closer to 2 carat in stock in my shape- so he told us we could come back any time within a year to get an upgrade once he got some larger stones for us to look at. At the time of my engagement, my sister-in-law (married to my big bro) had something like a .75 radiant cut solitaire with a ring guard. After I got engaged and she saw my ring, she traded hers in for a three stone ring with a one carat princess cut center....no band...(I thought it was an interesting choice, but didn''t pay much attention).

Well right before my wedding, we finally found the the 2 carat princess cut we had been looking for. So we had my ring set with the new stone just in time for the wedding. My set now had a 2 carat princess cut with 1 cart of round brilliant side stones. For the wedding band I chose two bands with prong set side stones to stack (.50 carats each). Immediately after the wedding, my brother tells me that his wife was CRYING....yes, crying and begged him for an upgrade (sad, I know- but true). Lo and behold, she upgraded to a 1.75carat princess cut set with round brilliant side stones and two bands...( her excuse was the when she had her three stone ring people just thought she was engaged and not married). Ladies!!! This was literally EXACTLY like my ring (except smaller

)

Okay, fast forward to three months ago which was my one year anniversary. My hubby upgraded me to a 3 carat stone!!! This time I fell in love with an oval...not to mention I was a little annoyed that my sister-in-law and I had twin rings, LOL. It has now been one month since my sister-in-law first saw my upgrade...coincidentally my brother said that she came to him upset and said that she "lost" her ring somewhere in the house and that they needed to make an insurance claim. She just insured her ring the week after I got my upgrade!!! I think they may actually be making a dishonest insurance claim so she can take the check and get a new ring!! This is out of control.

So I''m wondering if I should maybe go to a garage sale and get a really gaudy ring from the 80''s and show it off to her as my new upgrade...then she where she goes with it???? LOL...thanks for listening to my crazy story...I''m sure you all have much more SANE families than I.

 

[chaoticdreams33]

Date: 1/1/2010 8:27:49 PM
Author: DrJuju
Hi Everyone-

Just want to vent a little here and see if there is anyone else who has experienced anything similar.

Ok, so I initially got engaged with a gorgeous one carat princess cut set with another carat of round side stones. We got the one carat because the jeweler did not have anything closer to 2 carat in stock in my shape- so he told us we could come back any time within a year to get an upgrade once he got some larger stones for us to look at. At the time of my engagement, my sister-in-law (married to my big bro) had something like a .75 radiant cut solitaire with a ring guard. After I got engaged and she saw my ring, she traded hers in for a three stone ring with a one carat princess cut center....no band...(I thought it was an interesting choice, but didn''t pay much attention).

Well right before my wedding, we finally found the the 2 carat princess cut we had been looking for. So we had my ring set with the new stone just in time for the wedding. My set now had a 2 carat princess cut with 1 cart of round brilliant side stones. For the wedding band I chose two bands with prong set side stones to stack (.50 carats each). Immediately after the wedding, my brother tells me that his wife was CRYING....yes, crying and begged him for an upgrade (sad, I know- but true). Lo and behold, she upgraded to a 1.75carat princess cut set with round brilliant side stones and two bands...( her excuse was the when she had her three stone ring people just thought she was engaged and not married). Ladies!!! This was literally EXACTLY like my ring (except smaller

)

Okay, fast forward to three months ago which was my one year anniversary. My hubby upgraded me to a 3 carat stone!!! This time I fell in love with an oval...not to mention I was a little annoyed that my sister-in-law and I had twin rings, LOL. It has now been one month since my sister-in-law first saw my upgrade...coincidentally my brother said that she came to him upset and said that she ''lost'' her ring somewhere in the house and that they needed to make an insurance claim. She just insured her ring the week after I got my upgrade!!! I think they may actually be making a dishonest insurance claim so she can take the check and get a new ring!! This is out of control.

So I''m wondering if I should maybe go to a garage sale and get a really gaudy ring from the 80''s and show it off to her as my new upgrade...then she where she goes with it???? LOL...thanks for listening to my crazy story...I''m sure you all have much more SANE families than I.

That would be absolutely fantastic if she fell for it!

But really, I thought my mother copied me a lot, but this is insane. Really, cuckoo.

I would totally rock the gaudy ring and play it out like it''s the next big thing and see what happens

 

[Gleam]

I recently looked into insuring my ring. In order to have a cash-out policy with Chubb, your ring needs to be appraised for at least $12,000. I believe there is no minimum for replacement policies, such as the one Jeweler''s Mutual offers.

Essentially, you''re betting that you will lose or damage your ring, and the insurance company is betting that you won''t.

One of the diamond pros on this board gave a great suggestion: insure the ring for the first year, to see how you wear it, how you handle it, etc., then re-evaluate.

I''m not bothering to insure my ring. I looked into my options and it just didn''t seem worthwhile. I don''t worry about losing my e-ring or having it stolen, but I do worry about damaging it after I''ve read a few horror stories here.

 

[vinkalmann]

Hmmmm...it looks like I need to do some more research when it comes to replacement policies.

It seems odd to me that an insurance company would be willing to cash out an appraised value as that would open them up to all sorts of insurance fraud, ie buy a junk stone, shop around for an inflated appraisal, and ooops! lost the ring. But maybe this sort of thing doesn''t happen that much or they wouldn''t do it, after all, the insurance companies know all the numbers.

 

[DrJuju]

Date: 1/4/2010 12:18:41 PM
Author: vinkalmann
Hmmmm...it looks like I need to do some more research when it comes to replacement policies.

It seems odd to me that an insurance company would be willing to cash out an appraised value as that would open them up to all sorts of insurance fraud, ie buy a junk stone, shop around for an inflated appraisal, and ooops! lost the ring. But maybe this sort of thing doesn''t happen that much or they wouldn''t do it, after all, the insurance companies know all the numbers.

Yup! This is exactly the problem my sister-in-law is running into. She had her ring appraised at 8K, despite paying much less for it. When it "mysteriously" turned up missing, she assumed she would get a check cut for the 8K, however the insurance company isn''t doing it. They are getting only 5K towards a replacement because that is really all they paid.

 

[DrJuju]

Date: 1/2/2010 1:32:50 PM
Author: Gleam
I recently looked into insuring my ring. In order to have a cash-out policy with Chubb, your ring needs to be appraised for at least $12,000. I believe there is no minimum for replacement policies, such as the one Jeweler''s Mutual offers.


Essentially, you''re betting that you will lose or damage your ring, and the insurance company is betting that you won''t.


One of the diamond pros on this board gave a great suggestion: insure the ring for the first year, to see how you wear it, how you handle it, etc., then re-evaluate.


I''m not bothering to insure my ring. I looked into my options and it just didn''t seem worthwhile. I don''t worry about losing my e-ring or having it stolen, but I do worry about damaging it after I''ve read a few horror stories here.

So today she emails me and wants to know all the specifics of where I got my stone, band, etc...Maybe I should give her a website that sells Moissanites...??