Independent Appraisal (VS) Non-Independent Appraisal???

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 7/25/2006 10:37:16 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
I guess I''m biased, but personally I think it''s crazy to rely on a non-independent versus an independent appraisal, no matter who the source is.

Especially if you''re talking big money.

Hi Rich ~

It''s ok to be biased!

RE: your comment on big money. Well, to me big money might be someone else''s small money. This is where I think Aljdewey''s post comes in and one needs to think to themselves, could I easily replace this out of pocket.

For myself, I am one of the very few ladies at work who had this conversation at lunch who could not easily replace my diamond, or setting, or wedding bands ... It would take much time due to other financial priorities at this time, so ... for hubby it was clear on what to do with my ring/set.

However, it wasn''t clear to a bunch of ladies sitting at a lunch table as to what they should do, or need to do, at this given point in their lives.

There were two ladies who have 2 ct''ish center stones that stated that they didn''t have their diamond rings insured, and they were not appraised, They just took the jewelers word and that was it. One lady''s was from the late 70''s and the other was from the mid 80''s. They both said that if anything happened to this diamond, they would just replace it with another. They were quite matter of fact about it all. They are well established, and can afford many luxeries that most of us can not.

Three ladies who have .99ct, 1.27, & 1.74 ct stated that their diamond rings were insured, but didn''t now what they were insured for. All three had I.A.''s done, and submitted the paper work to insurance company, but when they got home and looked at their policy''s ... all were replacement value, and their policy didn''t mention anything specifically about their diamond. I asked these 3 ladies what would happen if they had to make a claim, could they replace with like kind, & would they be ok with that or would they be under insured, or what? Two stated that they would be ok with a similar replacement (No H&A), as long as it sparkled, and the third (1.74) stated no way! She said that she would not be happy unless it was a H&A with same parameters and she is now looking at switching or changing her policy to cover her needs and to also have her I.A. report binded to her policy, in case anything should ever happen.

One lady had a JM policy, she also had her 1.16 appraised independently, and she stated that her policy was up to date, and that her policy refers to being linked to her I.A.

Of Course the "Lunch Lady" doesn''t know much, other than she has a 1.36 HOF and eveyone else didn''t go her route (Bought at her mall store), her way (hubby surprised her) and the rest of us are all gonna burn in he!!

And lastly, me ... .72ct, the smallest of them all ... but I am imagining that it will definately out sparkle most. So, brilliant things might come in small packages!

Anyway, for hubby & I, we could not easily at this time replace this diamond without taking that money away from other priorities, and will definately insure ering and two diamond bands ... and just to be safe for insurance purposes ... are having all 3 rings get a I.A. form Rich ... and are currently deciding on Insurance for them, rider on home or something else, we havent'' figured this one out, but need to soon!

I think there are many reasons to get an I.A. done, however, everyone might not agree, or be in the same position as me, and that''s ok. Choice is a wonderful freedom to have. I know that this particular topic has made others (at lunch) aware of things that maybe they weren''t aware of previously.

Thanks to all the contributions and have a wonderful day to all!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 7/26/2006 9:33:44 AM
Author: RockDoc

Hi Sure Shoe,

Is the insurance coverage you describe a Chubb Insurance Company policy? If you have a stated value policy with another company, we all like to know who is writing that type of coverage.

Thanks

Rockdoc

RD......as info, I''ve also gotten similar coverage through a non-Chubb carrier. My first carrier was Cambridge Mutual, and they provided an option for an "agreed amount" policy. When we bought our house, I moved that coverage to the carrier who also has my homeowners insurance......a carrier who offered this coverage was a prerequisite for my homeowners so I could move all my policies to one place.

I did find that it''s not easy to get.....many agents I spoke with didn''t even know it existed until I insisted that it did and explained what it was. Homework on their part revealed that it was indeed available through a few carriers (at least here in Greater Boston). My agent for the first policy confessed he''d been in the industry 20 years and didn''t realize that "agreed amount" options existed.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Thanks for your clarification Joy.

I should define my term "big money" more clearly. "Big money" is any amount of money which would be a strain on the budget for a person to have to come up with in the event of a loss.

Whether it is $3,000 to $30,000, it makes no difference. If it is a strain, that is where insurance comes into the picture.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Rich, I like you a lot and would certainly send something to you if I need an appraisal. But I think it is just a little misleading to infer that one could end up with some huge loss because they used a GOG (or Winfield''s, etc.) insurance valuation versus your independent appraisal. If I send in Jonathan''s detailed insurance valuation papers and insure my ring for say $20,000, or I send in your appraisal and insure the ring for $20,000, I have every reason to believe that my policy will pay the exact same amount (or offer the same replacement item) in the unfortunate event of a loss with either!

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 7/29/2006 10:52:11 PM
Author: aljdewey

Date: 7/26/2006 9:33:44 AM
Author: RockDoc

Hi Sure Shoe,

Is the insurance coverage you describe a Chubb Insurance Company policy? If you have a stated value policy with another company, we all like to know who is writing that type of coverage.

Thanks

Rockdoc

RD......as info, I''ve also gotten similar coverage through a non-Chubb carrier. My first carrier was Cambridge Mutual, and they provided an option for an ''agreed amount'' policy. When we bought our house, I moved that coverage to the carrier who also has my homeowners insurance......a carrier who offered this coverage was a prerequisite for my homeowners so I could move all my policies to one place.

I did find that it''s not easy to get.....many agents I spoke with didn''t even know it existed until I insisted that it did and explained what it was. Homework on their part revealed that it was indeed available through a few carriers (at least here in Greater Boston). My agent for the first policy confessed he''d been in the industry 20 years and didn''t realize that ''agreed amount'' options existed.

Thanks ALJ

I''ve heard a lot of insurance companies offer the As Agreed/Stated Value type policy.

I ask every agent I come in contact with about this, and either get told they''ve never heard of it, don''t do it, or say they will get back to me and never do ( that is the common result usually ).

Here in FL it is difficult to get homeowners coverages due to the damage from the hurricanes from the last few years. Most companies here have changed what they cover and what the pay so drastically that it hardly seems worth it to have the coverage.

In this area Chubb will actually send someone to appraise the house, and the house must have a minimum value of $ 750K ( at least the last I heard). So the standalone jewelry policy they offer is an important one for those who don''t have a home of this value.

I wish every company offered the AS AGREED coverage that Chubb does, along with their 150% clause in case the cost to buy another one exceeeds the stated amount.

Does the AS AGREED policies you got have this clause in them? Was there a difference in the rate between them and Chubb?

Did your company require an appraisal? Does it require updating of value periodically?

Rockdoc

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Thanks DiamondSeeker, I like you a lot too.

My caution to have an item independently appraised at point-of-sale is not so much from a replacement point-of-view, for as you point out a Wink Jones appraisal or GOG appraisal is going to cover you just fine in the event of a loss. I was not meaning to infer any different from that with vendors who issue professional and comprehensive appraisals. Bear in mind that many do not though.

My caution to get an independent appraisal at point-of-sale is because it is the only time that you have someone employed by you (who is not involved in the sale of the item) intently scrutinize that item and tell you everything they find both pro & con.

This forum is frequented by some of the most professional vendors I have ever encountered, yet many of them (most of them?) would acknowledge (after being worked over with a rubber hose and pliers applied at strategic places) that at one time or another I have pointed out "problems" to their clients which made it past their quality control undetected. The threat level of these problems ranged from "minor" to "significant". Settings have been remade, mountings & finished jewelry pieces repaired or replaced, diamonds or jewelry items rejected, all from top Pricescope vendors. All things which would have gone un-noticed had not the client had an independent appraiser scrutinize the piece before they consumated the deal.

Sooner or later you're going to have an independent appraiser examine your item. Why not have it done at the most critical time, the point-of-purchase? Better to find out any negatives then when you can do something about it, than five years down the road.

 

[RockDoc]

Hey Richard....

Worked over with rubber hose and pliers?


Must be a long hose to reach somewhere long distance from Sarasota!

I''ve experienced the same "problems" as you have.

I''ve written this a lot of times, but not as well as you expressed it in the above post.

Well done

Rockdoc

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 7/30/2006 3:02:01 AM
Author: RockDoc
Hey Richard....

Worked over with rubber hose and pliers?


Must be a long hose to reach somewhere long distance from Sarasota!

I''ve experienced the same ''problems'' as you have.

I''ve written this a lot of times, but not as well as you expressed it in the above post.

Well done

Rockdoc

Oh my ... this sounds like "Shop talk" to me!

This kind of "shop talk" at my employ would constitute as some type of "Colonic treatment" or a "Colonoscopy"!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 7/30/2006 1:16:30 AM
Author: Richard Sherwood
Thanks DiamondSeeker, I like you a lot too.

My caution to have an item independently appraised at point-of-sale is not so much from a replacement point-of-view, for as you point out a Wink Jones appraisal or GOG appraisal is going to cover you just fine in the event of a loss. I was not meaning to infer any different from that with vendors who issue professional and comprehensive appraisals. Bear in mind that many do not though.

My caution to get an independent appraisal at point-of-sale is because it is the only time that you have someone employed by you (who is not involved in the sale of the item) intently scrutinize that item and tell you everything they find both pro & con.

This forum is frequented by some of the most professional vendors I have ever encountered, yet many of them (most of them?) would acknowledge (after being worked over with a rubber hose and pliers applied at strategic places) that at one time or another I have pointed out ''problems'' to their clients which made it past their quality control undetected. The threat level of these problems ranged from ''minor'' to ''significant''. Settings have been remade, mountings & finished jewelry pieces repaired or replaced, diamonds or jewelry items rejected, all from top Pricescope vendors. All things which would have gone un-noticed had not the client had an independent appraiser scrutinize the piece before they consumated the deal.

Sooner or later you''re going to have an independent appraiser examine your item. Why not have it done at the most critical time, the point-of-purchase? Better to find out any negatives then when you can do something about it, than five years down the road.

Thank you, Rich. I think this is a more reasonable explanation.

I do recall the diamond chip incident that one PS person had.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 7/30/2006 3:02:01 AM
Author: RockDoc
Hey Richard....

Worked over with rubber hose and pliers?


Must be a long hose to reach somewhere long distance from Sarasota!

I''ve experienced the same ''problems'' as you have.

I''ve written this a lot of times, but not as well as you expressed it in the above post.

Well done

Rockdoc

Yes, very eloquently said Richard. I agree with you and Rockdoc. Same issues nationwide.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com