Insurance / Appraisal Question

[ttrain]

I recently bought a 2 carat H, SI1 solitaire that appraised for $23,000 at the jewelery store I bought it at and $28,000 from a third-party independent appraiser. I purcahsed the GIA cert stone for $17,000. The $23K appraisal is just a certificate while the $28K appraisal is a 12-page document with details, pictures, etc.

I am deliberating on what type of insurance to purchase. I''ve read Chubb has a great policy where if the ring should get lost, they will send me a check so I can go out and purchase a new ring. I am also considering a personal articles floater with Traveler''s insurance. Is it better to purchase "agreed on value" insurance or "replacement value" insurance? What''s the difference between these two policies? Which of these company''s offers a better policy? Which appraisal (or sales receipt) should I present to my insurance broker (or both of them)?

Thank you for your time in helping me understand this better.

 

[D&T]

I like the cash out policy - but check with your insurance broker to see if Chubbs can offer individual policy on less than 100k of value. My state only writes out a chubb policy on 100k or more on jewelry items UNLESS you go through Touchstone insurace which will issue you a policy min 10k on Chubbs. I dont like to put a rider on homeowners or renters insurance due to the fact that if you have to make a claim, your whole policy may increase in premiums, you may have to check that out. Also if you do a search on insurance and appraisal on here, you find multiple threads on them. Hope that helps.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/2/2009 1:22:33 PM
Author:ttrain
I recently bought a 2 carat H, SI1 solitaire that appraised for $23,000 at the jewelery store I bought it at and $28,000 from a third-party independent appraiser. I purcahsed the GIA cert stone for $17,000. The $23K appraisal is just a certificate while the $28K appraisal is a 12-page document with details, pictures, etc.

I am deliberating on what type of insurance to purchase. I've read Chubb has a great policy where if the ring should get lost, they will send me a check so I can go out and purchase a new ring. I am also considering a personal articles floater with Traveler's insurance. Is it better to purchase 'agreed on value' insurance or 'replacement value' insurance? What's the difference between these two policies? Which of these company's offers a better policy? Which appraisal (or sales receipt) should I present to my insurance broker (or both of them)?

Thank you for your time in helping me understand this better.

Welcome!

What I would do is ask the independant appraiser if they can give you a suitable figure to use for insurance purposes if you had the appraisal done recently. If you use $23 or $28k the insurance company will only pay out close to what a similar replacement would cost so paying for inflated premiums is a waste of money. Often you do see a diamond appraise for much more than you paid, this is what is called a ' feelgood' factor but it isn't representative of the actual value. Personally I would rather have a policy which pays out so you can replace like with like especially concerning the all important cut quality. You don't want to end up being tied to an insurance companies' approved jeweller where they might not be offering well cut diamonds.

Chubb are a good company, some others you could try are

www.jewelersmutual.com

www.touchstoneinsurance.com

 

[John P]

Touchstone writes both cash-out (Chubb) and replacement-specific policies which allow you to work with your original jeweler. Even if you go a different direction consumers find them a helpful resource for head-to-head quotes on different types of policies.