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GemSafe insurance - very poor customer service

skypie

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A week or so ago I posted a thread asking about jewelry insurance...some suggested GemSafe. Please move this thread if it does not belong here.

For the last week or so I've tried to apply for jewelry insurance to cover the new Whiteflash engagement ring I just bought.

Some PSers recommended GemSafe over other insurers due to their lower premiums, so I decided to try it.

The initial online application was easy enough but 2 business days after I submitted the application I received a rejection notice saying I needed to send a different picture to prove possession. As instructed I sent a photo of the ring on a white piece of paper, with today's date. I promptly followed up to let them know that I sent the photo. No response.

This morning I call GemSafe and the rep tells me they received my picture and that she will get the application moved to the front of the pile and that someone will get back to me within the hour. 5 hours pass, no contact, so I call back. Another rep tells me that the rep I spoke to in the morning will get back to me this afternoon. Another 3 hours pass, no calls, no emails. I call back, the same rep answers and puts me on hold for almost 10 minutes then tells me now they need a picture of me holding the ring, with a newspaper with today's date. And that I need to get an appraisal in my state (instead of the receipt from Texas from Whiteflash). I told her it would have been great if they set out the specific photo requirements on the website to avoid all this back and forth. :roll

I told her their lack of responsiveness, failure to call/email back when promised did not inspire a lot of confidence in the event that I ever had to make a claim. She was apologetic but I told her to cancel my application and that I would go with another company.

If an insurer lacks responsiveness and communication when you're trying to sign up to pay them money how will they respond when you make a claim? :shock:

Bad experience....very poor customer service. I'm very disappointed in GemSafe.
 
Last edited:

whitewave

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I am having trouble with them myself. They have not replied to my emails and have one pair of earrings listed twice.
 

skypie

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I'm not sure what is going on there, but I find it odd that if you call their phone number sometimes you do not even get a live person...it goes to a voicemail. They also do not seem to respond to emails.

I am having trouble with them myself. They have not replied to my emails and have one pair of earrings listed twice.
 

whitewave

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[email protected] is the contact info I have for someone other than Stephanie Ishida
 

whitewave

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BTW, I had all of those same problems when I added more policies recently.
 

skypie

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Do you mean lack of responsiveness? Or GemSafe not clearly communicating what type of proof of possession photos they need? I told them they obviously should clearly state on their website what type of proof of possession is needed. If I recall correctly the website currently offers no guidance on what type of proof is needed.

Seems like common sense that you would want to provide instructions to your prospective customers.
 

whitewave

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Both! I uploaded all the documents and they were denied and I had to send photos. They added a pair of earrings twice and I need to remove my studs that I sent back and I can't get in touch with anyone on the phone or through email. (No response)

i just called sterling risk: 800-767-7837 extension 8600 (David Sterling) and left a voicemail with him
 

skypie

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That's really really annoying! Worse than no response for me is someone SAYING they will call you back within X hours and the clock ticks by and NADA....

Both! I uploaded all the documents and they were denied and I had to send photos. They added a pair of earrings twice and I need to remove my studs that I sent back and I can't get in touch with anyone on the phone or through email. (No response)

i just called sterling risk: 800-767-7837 extension 8600 (David Sterling) and left a voicemail with him
 

whitewave

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David Sterling just called me back. He is very apologetic and wants to fix whatever is happening. He said he will have someone call me tonight or tomorrow.
 

skypie

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That's good news! Seems like sometimes you have to get the 'manager' on the line for anything to get done. Hope they fix things up for you....
 

whitewave

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Omg! They have all called me back (David, Ralph and Stephanie) lol. Excellent customer service.

They seem to think there is some kind of technical glitch going on or something that needs to be fixed.

We are going to talk tomorrow and walk through it to see where the problems are.
 

Tophat1

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Yes, this is why I went with JM. It literally took me 2 mins to get my ring insured because I was buying from WF And they have some kind of partnership
 

whitewave

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That's the thing... I feel like dealing with jewelry insurance problems like I feel like going to the obgyn. I don't have time for this aggravation. It's just frustrating... hopefully gemsafe will fix whatever issues they have and make it easy for customers to buy their product, with clear information on what is needed and ease in use of their website to know if your policy is in effect or not.
 

rubberducky

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Weird. I have also been having trouble getting updates. They haven’t sent me my policy yet (which has been in effect since Dec 1), and I’ve reached out a couple of times over the past week about the status, and Stephanie says she’ll check and get back to me right away, but still hasn’t yet.
 

skypie

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Right. I think the most disappointing thing is when they tell you they will get back to you within 1 hour...or this afternoon...and they simply don't keep their promise!

If you're not going to be able to respond as you promised, at least give me notice and tell me so I'm not sitting there staring at my phone all day like an idiot!
 

rubberducky

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I think I’m also a bit antsy because it seems weird to me that I’ve paid for a policy, and it’s supposed to be in effect, but I haven’t seen my contract yet and it’s been almost 2 months. It sounds like this is just how GemSafe works, so I didn’t question it, but it feels weird not knowing what the actual terms are...
 

rubberducky

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But yeah, I totally agree I’d rather have a realistic time frame that I could trust.
 

whitewave

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I think I’m also a bit antsy because it seems weird to me that I’ve paid for a policy, and it’s supposed to be in effect, but I haven’t seen my contract yet and it’s been almost 2 months. It sounds like this is just how GemSafe works, so I didn’t question it, but it feels weird not knowing what the actual terms are...
I'm not sure my policies are in effect that I purchased on 1/4/18
 

canuk-gal

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Omg! They have all called me back (David, Ralph and Stephanie) lol. Excellent customer service.

They seem to think there is some kind of technical glitch going on or something that needs to be fixed.

We are going to talk tomorrow and walk through it to see where the problems are.



Interesting that a post on PS gets a response from not one, but, three employees.

This thread should be tied to the smartphone thread on, the other PS (hangout) forum. SM. Apparently, You betcha.
 

whitewave

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Interesting that a post on PS gets a response from not one, but, three employees.

This thread should be tied to the smartphone thread on, the other PS (hangout) forum. SM. Apparently, You betcha.

I called. I'm not sure they know what PS is... (though they should after this)
 

skypie

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I'm glad they called back whitewave. Perhaps they just aren't that interested in acquiring new customers.

I would at least hope they would be interested in keeping their existing customers happy though.
 

whitewave

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I'm glad they called back whitewave. Perhaps they just aren't that interested in acquiring new customers.

I would at least hope they would be interested in keeping their existing customers happy though.

They all seemed surprised that anyone was having issues.... now, whatever the reason for that... I have no idea...

(I'm glad I kept my asscher with state farm...)
 

Octo2005

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I have Jewelers Mutual and have found them to be very responsive during the initial set-up of my account. Thankfully, that is the only time that I have had to contact them.

I do recall that they requested very specific photographs. But it was all clearly spelled out in the email that they sent and they also sent a link to an online log in, so that all of my account info/doucuments were accessible to me online.

I am glad that you started this thread. I saw the many suggestions that GemSafe was less expensive in your previous thread and had thought about getting an estimate when my current policy is up for renewal. After reading about your and @whitewave's experiences, I think I will pass.
 

rubberducky

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I have Jewelers Mutual and have found them to be very responsive during the initial set-up of my account. Thankfully, that is the only time that I have had to contact them.

I do recall that they requested very specific photographs. But it was all clearly spelled out in the email that they sent and they also sent a link to an online log in, so that all of my account info/doucuments were accessible to me online.

I am glad that you started this thread. I saw the many suggestions that GemSafe was less expensive in your previous thread and had thought about getting an estimate when my current policy is up for renewal. After reading about your and @whitewave's experiences, I think I will pass.

To be fair, I was initially very excited about GemSafe because they were very responsive during the setting up phase. I asked probably a dozen questions over several emails and got same-day (even late evening) responses.

They’ve never asked for photographs from me, although my appraisal has a picture.
 

poshmommy

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To be fair, they did seem a little disorganized this year compared to last year when I got my initial policy. Last year, they were super responsive and easy to reach. I don't recall ever getting a policy by mail, but I can access my account on line and all the information seems to be spelled out there.

We were traveling this year so I missed the deadline on renewing the ring policy. I updated it on the web and got rejected. But after calling, Stephanie got it all straightened out. She said they had some questionable high dollar pay outs last year so they are really paying close attention to make sure everything is correct. Last year I do remember having to send a picture with the date and the ring. I understand for something like my ring the concern to make sure it is truly in my possession. I actually sent them a picture of me holding the ring with my driver's license and appraisal, time stamped by my phone.

I'm sorry to hear some people are having trouble with the company and I hope they can straighten up their intake problems quickly. If anyone hears of anyone better, please keep us informed. JM is out for me.
 

caf

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I would get your original policies in paper form and keep it and all amendments, declarations, etc. in a safe place and scan in and save. I would not rely on their computer system for a copy of your policy. You are entitled to and should receive a complete hard copy of your policy, including declarations. Each year if anything gets changed, you want that in writing too. Sometimes insurance companies make mistakes on what policies say when a claim is made and if you cannot prove what you paid for (what your coverage terms are) you are stuck with their "copy" of the policy, which may or may not be what you paid for.

CAF
 

rubberducky

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I would get your original policies in paper form and keep it and all amendments, declarations, etc. in a safe place and scan in and save. I would not rely on their computer system for a copy of your policy. You are entitled to and should receive a complete hard copy of your policy, including declarations. Each year if anything gets changed, you want that in writing too. Sometimes insurance companies make mistakes on what policies say when a claim is made and if you cannot prove what you paid for (what your coverage terms are) you are stuck with their "copy" of the policy, which may or may not be what you paid for.

CAF

I haven’t seen either a hard or digital copy of my policy yet. Is it normal to not have it by now? I paid for it end of Nov, to be effective Dec 1.
 

whitewave

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You know, this is REALLY bothering me.

I agree that last year, everything was easy breezy.

This year, it is all a HOT MESS.

My appraisals have photos and were done on 12/30/17. When I signed up for additional policies on 1/4/18, they got rejected. Needed photos.

I appreciate that they all jumped and called me back, but I honestly can't sleep tonight because I am replaying this in my head-- red flag. I honestly do not think my policies from 1/4/18 are in force, which really bothers me. I have no start or end dates on my account. It says "in progress application".

I have decided to move my policies to state farm and American National. This experience has left me with zero confidence with GemSafe should I have a loss. I will help them understand what is going on with my account and the complete lack of action by them and the total lack of communication, but then I will move on elsewhere.

The level of frustration I have *for the last 3 weeks* is unsettling. This is not the first time I have contacted them to try and get this all settled, and until yesterday, I thought my policies were in force. I'm actually quite ticked to discover they are not.

Yet, I got plenty of emails about my expiring policy and to renew that one, and oops, it expired you can still get it back. But not a damn thing about what policy I have.

Nope. I don't like this and I don't have confidence in them any more. There is clearly some major disorganization going on in their office.

Frankly, I could do without their drama.
 

whitewave

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Oh and Ralph Cohen said to call his cell phone if you need help:
312 953 4004
 
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