engagement setting damanged insurance questions

[kcoursolle]

I''m a little sad right now because I damaged my engagement ring setting. I was running around the house trying to do too many things and I slammed my hand into my bedroom door. The setting is completely smooshed. The good news is that my hand is just fine and my husband is not upset. The ring probably saved my hand or fingers from being broken and a damaged ring is not really a terrible thing.

The setting was a not particularly well-made pave split shank with very thin bands (1.4mm). We didn''t spend a lot of money on it because we were planning on upgrading after a few years and getting a larger stone and a better crafted setting. I think I paid about 1k for the entire setting about a year and a half now. The bands were 14k wg and the basket was platinum.

Luckily we do have insurance (through jewelers mutual), but my mom suggested that I shouldn''t file a claim. She thought that it might raise my rates or have implications for car, home, or other insurance policies. Since the setting wasn''t that expensive I wouldn''t have a hard time just taking the hit since we were probably going to change the setting in a couple of years anyways and would have lost most of the value of the setting.

Is she right that making a claim can have negative implications? Should I file a claim for a small amount of money? My husband is supportive of whatever I decide.

Thanks for your help folks, it really means a lot to me.

 

[:)]

Oh, K! I have no experience here, but I am so sorry

Is your 5 stone ring okay? I know I don''t even have to tell you, but...check your stone thoroughly (as I well know you know how to use a loupe well! to make sure no damage to the stone itself too! So sorry

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/31/2007 4:52:22 PM
Author:
Oh, K! I have no experience here, but I am so sorry

Is your 5 stone ring okay? I know I don''t even have to tell you, but...check your stone thoroughly (as I well know you know how to use a loupe well! to make sure no damage to the stone itself too! So sorry

Hi Smiley, luckily I wear my five stone band on the opposite hand and it didn''t suffer any damage. I checked my diamond under a 30x loupe and it looks absoultely fine from what I can see. The basket doesn''t even have any damage, the setting was probably tilted on my finger because it smooshed sideways.

 

[:)]

Good, I am glad for that. I guess your husband can now say that he saved you from getting your fingers squooshed b/c he gave you an e-ring...

 

[kcoursolle]

Here are a few pictures. The lighting wasn''t the best and the flash made it worse, but you should get an idea of the damage. The ring is completely smooshed, I''m amazed at how bad it is. I know what everyone is thinking...thin pave bands aren''t stable...

 

[kcoursolle]

..

 

[kcoursolle]

..

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 10/31/2007 4:47:37 PM
Author:kcoursolle
I'm a little sad right now because I damaged my engagement ring setting. I was running around the house trying to do too many things and I slammed my hand into my bedroom door. The setting is completely smooshed. The good news is that my hand is just fine and my husband is not upset. The ring probably saved my hand or fingers from being broken and a damaged ring is not really a terrible thing.

The setting was a not particularly well-made pave split shank with very thin bands (1.4mm). We didn't spend a lot of money on it because we were planning on upgrading after a few years and getting a larger stone and a better crafted setting. I think I paid about 1k for the entire setting about a year and a half now. The bands were 14k wg and the basket was platinum.

Luckily we do have insurance (through jewelers mutual), but my mom suggested that I shouldn't file a claim. She thought that it might raise my rates or have implications for car, home, or other insurance policies. Since the setting wasn't that expensive I wouldn't have a hard time just taking the hit since we were probably going to change the setting in a couple of years anyways and would have lost most of the value of the setting.

Is she right that making a claim can have negative implications? Should I file a claim for a small amount of money? My husband is supportive of whatever I decide.

Thanks for your help folks, it really means a lot to me.

Kcoursolle, I would talk to your insurance company and ask if that would raise rates. I lost my ring and talked to my agent and for me it wouldn't. He did say if I were to lose it again then for sure it would raise rates.

I am so sorry that happened. Such a bummer and glad your hand is okay. I guess you have to ask yourself if it is worth making a claim knowing you will change the setting in the near future?

 

[denverappraiser]

Get an estimate from a good jeweler to repair it before you file a claim. If your diamond is ok and there aren’t many missing pieces it might not be as damaged as you think.

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

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/31/2007 5:53:42 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 10/31/2007 4:47:37 PM
Author:kcoursolle
I''m a little sad right now because I damaged my engagement ring setting. I was running around the house trying to do too many things and I slammed my hand into my bedroom door. The setting is completely smooshed. The good news is that my hand is just fine and my husband is not upset. The ring probably saved my hand or fingers from being broken and a damaged ring is not really a terrible thing.

The setting was a not particularly well-made pave split shank with very thin bands (1.4mm). We didn''t spend a lot of money on it because we were planning on upgrading after a few years and getting a larger stone and a better crafted setting. I think I paid about 1k for the entire setting about a year and a half now. The bands were 14k wg and the basket was platinum.

Luckily we do have insurance (through jewelers mutual), but my mom suggested that I shouldn''t file a claim. She thought that it might raise my rates or have implications for car, home, or other insurance policies. Since the setting wasn''t that expensive I wouldn''t have a hard time just taking the hit since we were probably going to change the setting in a couple of years anyways and would have lost most of the value of the setting.

Is she right that making a claim can have negative implications? Should I file a claim for a small amount of money? My husband is supportive of whatever I decide.

Thanks for your help folks, it really means a lot to me.

Kcoursolle, I would talk to your insurance company and ask if that would raise rates. I lost my ring and talked to my agent and for me it wouldn''t. He did say if I were to lose it again then for sure it would raise rates.

I am so sorry that happened. Such a bummer and glad your hand is okay. I guess you have to ask yourself if it is worth making a claim knowing you will change the setting in the near future?

Thanks for the advice skippy. I suppose it wouldn''t hurt to just ask JM what would happen to my policy if I filed a claim.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/31/2007 6:12:03 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Get an estimate from a good jeweler to repair it before you file a claim. If your diamond is ok and there aren’t many missing pieces it might not be as damaged as you think.

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

Thanks for the advice Denver. When I look at it I think it looks very mangled, but I can definitely ask a few jewelers when it would be inexpensive to repair. If it costs more than a couple hundred though I think I rather just buy a plain solitaire setting to put my stone in.

 

[pyle112]

A claim made through jewelers mutual should not affect any other insurance rates. Now something that affects your credit rating can affect other insurance rates, but insurance claims do not affect credit scores.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/31/2007 6:51:33 PM
Author: pyle112
A claim made through jewelers mutual should not affect any other insurance rates. Now something that affects your credit rating can affect other insurance rates, but insurance claims do not affect credit scores.

great news to hear! I wondered if my mom was being paranoid, but I didn''t want to take the risk just in case.

 

[lyra]

Also, what is your deductible? There''s nothing wrong with calling the insurance company and explaining the situation to get advice before proceeding. Sorry for the smooshing though. I have seen another similar ring with similar damage, and it does concern me a bit about those slim bands. I whacked my ring last week and ended up with a good bruise on my finger, but the ring was totally fine, only because it has a substantial band and head on it I guess.

 

[iheartscience]

Well first of all, I''m sorry to hear about your beautiful ring, kcoursolle...that''s a bummer! I''m glad your finger''s okay, though.

I''m not sure about the jewelry insurance question specifically, but I do know that for my car, I''ve refrained from making a claim a few times because it definitely affects my car insurance rates immediately when I file a claim. (My car has been hit 3 separate times while it was parked-I live in the city and people love to hit and run, apparently!)

So I would probably just run it by the jewelry insurance company and see what they say about your rates. If you do want to change the setting to a less expensive one, I''d probably just do that out of pocket. However, if you do make a claim you could use the $ you get to put towards a new and improved (and probably more expensive setting) so that has benefits, too.

Just my random thoughts...let us know how it turns out, though-I''m interested to hear the answer about the insurance rates!

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 10/31/2007 7:11:30 PM
Author: lyra
Also, what is your deductible? There''s nothing wrong with calling the insurance company and explaining the situation to get advice before proceeding. Sorry for the smooshing though. I have seen another similar ring with similar damage, and it does concern me a bit about those slim bands. I whacked my ring last week and ended up with a good bruise on my finger, but the ring was totally fine, only because it has a substantial band and head on it I guess.

My deductible is zero luckily.