Insurance Advice

[PSU1226]

Hello PScopers,

I recently bought an ering from WF and now I am in the process of looking for insurance. Here is the link to the SMTR forum for a pic.

Link to picture

I''ve been reading about the different insurance options in old posts and from what I''ve read, it seems like I would be comfortable going with a company like Chubb. I''ve talked to someone at Touchstone, the company that advertises on WF''s website and he walked me through the differences between the Chubb''s policy and the GemShield policy they offer.

My understanding is the Chubb cuts you a check for the insured value, so that is the primary reason I want to use them (if I qualify). Now here is my dilemma:

Purchase price (diamond and setting): ~19,000
Letter of verification sent by WF: ~ 28,600.

That is almost $10K difference

. So on average, how much do diamond prices go up annually? I am afraid of going with the purchase price and be shocked if a few years from now the diamonds prices have gone up significantly and something happens to the ring. I don''t know if I am being too paranoid. I want to have peace of mind but at a reasonable cost and 10K difference would probably mean around 50% markup on the purchase price premium. I am aware that this letter of verification is usually inflated, so should I take the ring to an independent appraiser instead or would that typically come back with a similar appraised value? Should I just go with the purchase price?

Sorry if I am over-complicating things. I am a Noob when it comes to jewelry insurance. Also, the ring will be shipped this coming Thursday, so I don''t want to have it with me unless I have secured insurance.

Thanks in advance

 

[sparkles]

Chubb all the way for me. They came through when I really needed them.

They took the independent appraisal for insurance purposes. I would be revaluing replacement cost annually or when then is a large % movement in diamond prices.

Sparkles

 

[PSU1226]

Date: 2/17/2009 8:18:03 PM
Author: sparkles
Chubb all the way for me. They came through when I really needed them.

They took the independent appraisal for insurance purposes. I would be revaluing replacement cost annually or when then is a large % movement in diamond prices.

Sparkles

Thanks Sparkles. When you say they took the independent appraisal do you mean they wouldn''t take the sales receipt to insure for the purchase price or that you decided to go with the independent appraisal instead?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/17/2009 7:48:25 PM
Author:PSU1226
Hello PScopers,

I recently bought an ering from WF and now I am in the process of looking for insurance. Here is the link to the SMTR forum for a pic.

Link to picture

I've been reading about the different insurance options in old posts and from what I've read, it seems like I would be comfortable going with a company like Chubb. I've talked to someone at Touchstone, the company that advertises on WF's website and he walked me through the differences between the Chubb's policy and the GemShield policy they offer.

My understanding is the Chubb cuts you a check for the insured value, so that is the primary reason I want to use them (if I qualify). Now here is my dilemma:

Purchase price (diamond and setting): ~19,000
Letter of verification sent by WF: ~ 28,600.

That is almost $10K difference

. So on average, how much do diamond prices go up annually? I am afraid of going with the purchase price and be shocked if a few years from now the diamonds prices have gone up significantly and something happens to the ring. I don't know if I am being too paranoid. I want to have peace of mind but at a reasonable cost and 10K difference would probably mean around 50% markup on the purchase price premium. I am aware that this letter of verification is usually inflated, so should I take the ring to an independent appraiser instead or would that typically come back with a similar appraised value? Should I just go with the purchase price?

Sorry if I am over-complicating things. I am a Noob when it comes to jewelry insurance. Also, the ring will be shipped this coming Thursday, so I don't want to have it with me unless I have secured insurance.

Thanks in advance

These large appraisal values are usual, however the best thing to do is to get an independant appraisal, also the appraiser can give you a suitable figure to use for insurance. No point in paying for these premiums as you would not get that amount back should you need to claim, but find a realistic value to use for insurance which would make you whole should the worst happen. Here is an appraisers list you can use to find one in your area.

http://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

 

[PSU1226]

Date: 2/18/2009 10:48:24 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/17/2009 7:48:25 PM
Author:PSU1226
Hello PScopers,

I recently bought an ering from WF and now I am in the process of looking for insurance. Here is the link to the SMTR forum for a pic.

Link to picture

I''ve been reading about the different insurance options in old posts and from what I''ve read, it seems like I would be comfortable going with a company like Chubb. I''ve talked to someone at Touchstone, the company that advertises on WF''s website and he walked me through the differences between the Chubb''s policy and the GemShield policy they offer.

My understanding is the Chubb cuts you a check for the insured value, so that is the primary reason I want to use them (if I qualify). Now here is my dilemma:

Purchase price (diamond and setting): ~19,000
Letter of verification sent by WF: ~ 28,600.

That is almost $10K difference

. So on average, how much do diamond prices go up annually? I am afraid of going with the purchase price and be shocked if a few years from now the diamonds prices have gone up significantly and something happens to the ring. I don''t know if I am being too paranoid. I want to have peace of mind but at a reasonable cost and 10K difference would probably mean around 50% markup on the purchase price premium. I am aware that this letter of verification is usually inflated, so should I take the ring to an independent appraiser instead or would that typically come back with a similar appraised value? Should I just go with the purchase price?

Sorry if I am over-complicating things. I am a Noob when it comes to jewelry insurance. Also, the ring will be shipped this coming Thursday, so I don''t want to have it with me unless I have secured insurance.

Thanks in advance

These large appraisal values are usual, however the best thing to do is to get an independant appraisal, also the appraiser can give you a suitable figure to use for insurance. No point in paying for these premiums as you would not get that amount back should you need to claim, but find a realistic value to use for insurance which would make you whole should the worst happen. Here is an appraisers list you can use to find one in your area.

http://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

Thanks for your response Lorelei. One question though, why wouldn''t I get the amount back based on the premium that I am paying for. I thought Chubb would cut you a check for whaterver value you insure it for. Do you think it is not safe to go ahead and insure it for the purchase price? Do you think the Independent appraiser will come back with a figure somwhere in between the purchase price and the letter of verification? I appreciate your advice.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/18/2009 11:31:05 AM
Author: PSU1226

Date: 2/18/2009 10:48:24 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/17/2009 7:48:25 PM
Author:PSU1226
Hello PScopers,

I recently bought an ering from WF and now I am in the process of looking for insurance. Here is the link to the SMTR forum for a pic.

Link to picture

I've been reading about the different insurance options in old posts and from what I've read, it seems like I would be comfortable going with a company like Chubb. I've talked to someone at Touchstone, the company that advertises on WF's website and he walked me through the differences between the Chubb's policy and the GemShield policy they offer.

My understanding is the Chubb cuts you a check for the insured value, so that is the primary reason I want to use them (if I qualify). Now here is my dilemma:

Purchase price (diamond and setting): ~19,000
Letter of verification sent by WF: ~ 28,600.

That is almost $10K difference

. So on average, how much do diamond prices go up annually? I am afraid of going with the purchase price and be shocked if a few years from now the diamonds prices have gone up significantly and something happens to the ring. I don't know if I am being too paranoid. I want to have peace of mind but at a reasonable cost and 10K difference would probably mean around 50% markup on the purchase price premium. I am aware that this letter of verification is usually inflated, so should I take the ring to an independent appraiser instead or would that typically come back with a similar appraised value? Should I just go with the purchase price?

Sorry if I am over-complicating things. I am a Noob when it comes to jewelry insurance. Also, the ring will be shipped this coming Thursday, so I don't want to have it with me unless I have secured insurance.

Thanks in advance

These large appraisal values are usual, however the best thing to do is to get an independant appraisal, also the appraiser can give you a suitable figure to use for insurance. No point in paying for these premiums as you would not get that amount back should you need to claim, but find a realistic value to use for insurance which would make you whole should the worst happen. Here is an appraisers list you can use to find one in your area.

http://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

Thanks for your response Lorelei. One question though, why wouldn't I get the amount back based on the premium that I am paying for. I thought Chubb would cut you a check for whaterver value you insure it for. Do you think it is not safe to go ahead and insure it for the purchase price? Do you think the Independent appraiser will come back with a figure somwhere in between the purchase price and the letter of verification? I appreciate your advice.

As an example, lets consider if you purchased a ring for $15k and had an appraisal which valued the ring at $27k and you decided to insure it for the higher amount. To the best of my knowledge should anything happen to your ring and you needed to claim, it would probably cost close to the amount you paid which was $15k to replace it, so according to your original purchase price thats what you would receive according to the various terms and conditions of your policy. Thats what the insurance company would pay out to make you whole after your loss. These high appraisals are commonplace and apparently are designed to appeal to the ' feelgood' factor for the buyer, but thats all. After all, if the ring was really worth that amount it would cost that to purchase it in the first place. So really paying for an inflated appraisal figure would be a waste as you wouldn't get that amount back necessarily.

What I would do is to get an appraisal done by an independant pro, and explain to them you want a suitable figure to use for insurance purposes, they should be able to provide that for you which would probably be closer to your purchase price than the much higher appraisal value.

This page should help also,

http://www.pricescope.com/appraiser.asp