Help from State Farm Insurance Customers--Jewelry Insurance

[Mara]

We have State Farm insurance for our renters and Greg wants to get a new policy for my jewelry. We got the appraisals etc and talked to our SF agent, she sent me a huge email with alot of information on how they pay out, check vs. their idea of the same thing, etc. I''m a little confused and I will be calling her to clarify, BUT I know that some other people on here do have SF as the holder for their jewelry policy, so here are a few questions/concerns that I am hoping you fellow SF''ers can help with.

My biggest concern is that I want them to cut us a check if it is determined that the diamond is lost or stolen etc..as opposed to them buying us the stone and ring themselves with what THEY deem are the right specs(tricky!).

Here is the verbiage she posted from their policy that concerns me:
“State Farm has the option of repairing or replacing any lost or damaged property, and in the event of a cash settlement, you will be paid no more than State Farm’s cost to replace the item.…”.
/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>
So if that is the case and our appraisal says $11k, but they can get it at cost through their vendors for $7k, does that mean we only get $7k? If so, why are we paying premiums on $11k? Do we have to purchase through them? Does this sound right at all?

We are looking into an ''all risks policy'' which I believe covers loss, theft, damage, etc. She has sent us a policy jacket in the mail for us to review which will spec out *exactly* what the ''all risks'' policy covers, but this is just the email that she sent responding to a few of my initial questions.

Comments are much appreciated from fellow State Farmers...and if you looked into SF but went with another insurance co or a true jewelry co, who and what turned you away from SF. We also do not want to pay too much $$$$ to insure the jewelry..but rather are looking for a middle of the road reasonable cost which SF does have.

Thanks in advance!! Want to get these things insured already!/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/img]>

 

[mike04456]

----------------
Comments are much appreciated from fellow State Farmers...and if you looked into SF but went with another insurance co or a true jewelry co, who and what turned you away from SF. We also do not want to pay too much $$$$ to insure the jewelry..but rather are looking for a middle of the road reasonable cost which SF does have.
----------------

Others may disagree with me, but personally, I would go without insurance before I bought a policy from State Farm. Their agents are very helpful and courteous when it comes to selling policies, but their claims adjusting division is a different story. I can tell you from the days when I used to practice insurance defense that State Farm is known for taking a "scorched earth" approach to its claims adjusting.

My experience is mainly in personal injury, but I doubt that their philosophy is all that different when it comes to jewelry. If they would force people to buy cheap knock-off parts (instead of new manufacturer parts) for their cars and call it "same or equivalent," I wouldn't put it past them to make you replace your stone with an M-SI3. They've been hit with several huge jury verdicts in recent years because of claims adjusting shenanigans such as this.

I'd shop around and ask as many people as you can. You want to find people who actually had to file a claim for a lost diamond. Don't fixate on price, either--cheap insurance is frequently not worth the trouble you get when you file a claim.

 

[shutinup]

You are right...you will only get $7K. This happened to a friend where he had it appraised at the same place where SF was going to replace it from. They based there premiums on the inflated appraisal and then claimed they only had to pay a smaller percentage which was "their" replacement value because of a deal that they could get AT THE SAME APPRAISER. It is total fraud, but who is going to litigate over a couple of g's. I tried to negotiate, being a lawyer, and they wouldnt budge. Go to an insurer like CHUBB where they have favorable terms.

 

[mike04456]

Here's a site that discusses some of what I was talking about. This isn't everything I've heard of, but it hits the high points:

http://home.sprintmail.com/~k9crew/StateFarmBadFaithJournal.html

 

[Mara]

Thanks for the responses guys and the link from LawGem. I will definitely check it out. We are not sold on SF by any means...I do not mind going with a Chubb or similar if the policy is what we are looking for...but we want the cost to be reasonable (not cheap not expensive) so that we can justify it over a long period of time.

If anyone else has comments, experiences, etc please post. I know there are other SF'ers on here so let me know your thoughts.

THX!

 

[StevL]

They can cash you out but at the figure that their jeweler says he will take from State Farm to replace it. Most deal with a 10% profit and some less. Not all companies have equal cash outs.

One big catch is that none of the major grading labs currently indicate a H&A diamond or a diamond with super optical symmetry. Since this doesn't show up on a grading report their jeweler can simply replace it with a Ideal cut diamond and it is considered equal in some insurance companies eyes.

I do know that Jewelers Mutual will replace it with the same brand if it is branded and work hard to replace equal with a non-branded.

They know what an Eightstar diamond is, I can tell you that for sure.

 

[justme]

I just checked into insurance options earlier this month.

I WAS a Jewelers Mutual customer (they're headquartered here in my city). I bought my diamond from GOG (story and pics coming) when it arrived and was set I called JM and spoke to an agent who stated that if my diamond was lost/stolen/damaged they would put me in contact with their wholesaler to find a diamond.

I told her that even though the diamond was certed - it wouldn't do to have them replace it with the cert. specifications because it was also a H&A diamond. She stated that when I sent the appraisal in I should indicate that I wanted the sarin numbers and H&A photos entered into the insurance information and that this would cover me getting the correct cut diamond in case it needed to be replaced.

They will not do a cash payout for insured amount.

I didn't like this for 2 reasons:
- Sarin doesn't tell you all the facet cuts that make up the diamond and therefore create the H&A symmetry. And I certainly don't - so I didn't want their wholesaler to be the one telling me that 'this' or 'that' was great.
- I don't want to be 'limited' to working with their supplier that might or might not be able to match what I have now. If not able to match paying out the 'lower' this is what we'll give you amount.

So I called my homeowners policy and asked about an jewelry insurance rider - Same as JM - work with their wholesaler - no cash payout - not sure about getting exact diamond cut specifications into policy - but definitely Cert info. (Wait a minute my diamond is SOOOO much more than the cert. info!

)

On to Chubb - Cash payout for insured amount with my option of they repair/replace. If I choose repair/replace for a broke item they get broke item or whats left - I get $.

AND this was $17 less than JM!!

Just to give you an idea of cost my yearly rate is $235.00 for items totaling just over $26,000.

So now I'm a Chubb client

And all new items are automatically covered for 90 after purchase without even contacting them - of course by 90 days I have to call if I want the item added and then pay the premium but this is a bonus for me as I travel often and pick thing up and don't get around to immediately calling them in - it's nice to know they're covered from the day of purchase.

Hope this helps Mara, although I didn't contact SF I thought input from other sources would be helpful.

One other thing - Jonathon was just getting his GemPrinter in and so I asked the insurance companies about a discount for having this done. JM - 5%, House - 0, Chubb - 0. So I didn't have this done.


Justme

 

[Mara]

JustMe..good..thanks..I will definitely call Chubb and check out JM as well...see which works best. It sounds like I am looking for what you got with Chubb though! I don't want anyone telling me what type of stone to get (but it has the same table and depth!), as we all know that diamonds are a myriad of differences from each other and after all the work put into our stone, I don't want someone else's idea of an equal replacement.

Our stone is not an H&A or even an AGS0 so having them input the Sarin etc does not really make sense as our stone a good looking larger tabled stone. I just want a cash payout so that if the ring is stolen or similar, we get the $$ we have been paying against the entire time and we can decide how we want to replace that item.

Thanks all!

 

[niceice]

The key to protecting yourself Mara is to ensure that the appraisal presented to the insurance company AND the abbreviated description which the underwriter will write as a description of the item insured are both quite specific... This helps to close the loopholes available to the claims agent in the event of loss... Now we've provided jewelry replacement services to most of the major insurance companies and we have seen how they worm out of claims more than a few times... However of all the companies we've worked with, State Farm seemed to be the most straightforward in processing their claims. We only recommend two companies to our customers and those companies are State Farm and Chubb... We insure all of our personal items, house, cars, boat, etc. with State Farm and would insure the business with them if they covered jewelry stores - which they don't. The reason we don't insure with Chubb is that it can be a challenge getting through the maze of their customer service department. We've seen some of the cases where SF has tried to push an insured into replacing with something that was probably less than what they had, but we've also seen SF resolve the situation to the customers satisfaction when the documentation was provided and we pushed SF to let us select the replacement diamond that would be offered to the customer... The biggest problem we see with insurance replacements is a lack of documentation on the part of the insured... They often misplace their sales receipt, original appraisal, lab report, etc. and are left with the abridged description of the item that allows the insurance company to replace with practically anything that they want. Protect yourself by maintaining excellent records, take pictures of the ring, make copies of the sales receipt, lab report, etc. and keep them in more than one place... In the event of loss, you will need to provide copies of these items to the claims agent to ensure an accurate replacement because the copy that you gave your insurance agent will likely have been thrown out after the policy was issued!

 

[divergrrl]

Mara,

Wow, I am so glad I left State Farm...my husband has a loyalty to his guy through Country Companies, and I have to say the policy for jewelry rocks. We have homeowners insurance, BUT, I had to insure my diamonds separately. My ring is insured at 10k, and I pay $70 a year. I am covered REGARDLESS of the reason it is no longer on my finger. Theft, loose prong, general stupidity, fell off my hand in the ocean, freak cracking or breakage, you name it, it's covered. I freaked out a few months ago after hearing horror stories about other companies, and called my agent just to 'be sure' that no matter what I'd get full retail replacement value. He sent me the disclosures, and I am all set. I am not required to get my ring checked or anything, but of course, for sentimental reasons, I will anyway.

I also insured my car through them, and the ticket I just got only raised my rates $5 dollars. YAY!

I am so happy with Country Companies, that we have our home, cars, jewelry and I am getting our life insurance through them next. Dealing with their offices is a breeze, and they make sure you feel like you have all the information. I believe they offer renters insurance as well...so I'd give them a looksee...your ring is too gorgeous not to insure to the hilt, the emotional trauma you'd suffer if you lost it will not be mended by a new ring, but not getting hosed in the process will at least make securing a replacement a little less ugly.

I got my new ring btw..but my digi cam sucks.....i'll post a pic asap, and it's better than I hoped!

 

[fire&ice]

Keep in mind that an insurance company is only as good as the agent & claims adjuster. Also, if you do have a claim, how you submit it is just as important. The more back up you have the better. Do not let them intimidate you. Be straight forward with your concerns.

 

[Greg G]

I went through my home insurance (USAA) . They had me insure it for the purchase price rather than the apraised value since I just bought the ring. Seemed to make sense to me though it is a bit confusing that down the road, when it's time for a new appraisal, it will be insured based on that.

-Greg

 

[divergrrl]

Greg,

I was also advised to have my ring re-appraised every 5 to 10 years. The cost of a one carat+ diamond will increase over time due to rising costs of living, inflation, etc. Sometime back in 1991, I saw a statistic that said the average cost of a one carat diamond engagement ring had increased 600% since the 1960's. Figure you are married 20 years and your wife loses her ring? You won't be able to buy the same thing you bought with the amount money you spent on the stone previously. And if your wife loses it and you are retired and on a fixed income, well, that is why it pays to take a few hours every decade to ensure your diamond will be safe for a lifetime.

I have my ring insured at the estimated retail replacement value. Obviously I would never buy retail, but just in case the only thing I could find that I liked was at a B&M store, I have the option of replacing it for what it would go for in a store. We paid 6k for my ring, and it just appraised at 13k, so I have to bring the new appraisal into my agent (it was previously appraised at 10k, but I had the "in house" and not independent, and when I had it appraised by a GIA Gemologist, it actually graded better). I just went into Bailey Banks & Biddle to pick up some china and saw a ring similar to mine, but the center diamond was not as big or good color/clarity/cut & the side stones were 1/3 size and it was 10k. So there you go...always get that retail replacement value. IMHO...but then I am irish and afraid of Murphy and his Laws...