Insurance: Homeowners or Standalone?

[rdonchez]

What is the general consensus on the board? Is it more favorable to seek insurance through your Homeowners insurance or a Standalone company such as Jewelers Mutual for engagement rings?

My homeowners insurance is with Erie if that changes anything.

 

[Regular Guy]

speaking only for myself, who selected my homeowner's policy (Nationwide), I can affirm the value for being lazy, inasmuch as the cost just gets covered with payments that are flowed in my monthly mortgage payments. I understand the actual cost is similar, but I haven't checked this in awhile. Adding an additional piece recently was easy.

Ira Z.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

And on the other side, there is an advantage of insuring separately. If you ever have to make a claim, it won't cause your whole homeowner's policy premium to go up. Insuring on your homeowners really depends on the individual company.

 

[rdonchez]

I guess the only thing that sounded like an advantage to Jewlers Mutual is that they will let you work with the Jeweler of your choice for replacement. It would be nice knowing that I could go back to the same place I bought the ring. While I"m waiting to confirm my guess is that the homeowners won't let you do the same.

 

[ame]

i have a standalone through Chubb and will keep that til I am no longer able to.

 

[denverappraiser]

I guess the only thing that sounded like an advantage to Jewlers Mutual is that they will let you work with the Jeweler of your choice for replacement. It would be nice knowing that I could go back to the same place I bought the ring. While I"m waiting to confirm my guess is that the homeowners won't let you do the same.

I’m a fan of Jewelers Mutual and have been a long time customer but there’s a bit of slight of hand in this claim. They will allow you to work with the jeweler of your choice, but they are not agreeing to pay the jeweler whatever they want to do the job. They have a procedure to decide how much a particular job is worth, just like the other replacement companies do. It's a cost+ sort of formula and they will pay your guy THAT amount to do it no matter what he/she regularly charges. If he wants more, the ‘extra’ is on you or you can switch to another jeweler who charges lower prices. Their payment schedule is pretty fair, and I know of rather few jewelers who take exception with it.

As mentioned above, I think the #1 reason for a standalone policy is that it avoids claims activity on your homeowners policy for jewelry claims. The advantage of the homeowners policies is that you already have a relationship going with the company and agent and they have an incentive NOT to piss you off over a paltry jewelry claim since you probably have a car or 3, a house and possibly other things with them. They risk losing ALL of your business I they behave badly (or if you think they do). This makes the homeowners guys actually pretty solicitous at claims time. Also mentioned above, they’re all usually about the same price although I’m frequently surprised at some of the local differences. It definitely pays to shop insurance companies.

I would add another benefit to JM in that they are by and about jewelers. They know who makes what, what things cost and are generally well connected in the trade. The claims ajusters seem to be better skilled than many because they're so specialized.

 

[rdonchez]

I know that it is recommended to have rings checked periodically for damage. However, if you fail to do so is this a reason for companies like Jewelers Mutual to deny coverage? Do you need to keep a record of such inspections?

 

[emeraldmurphy]

It doesn't look to be required for standalone, but each homeowners policy may vary?

Myth #4 – I had my jewelry items appraised when I first got them. Is there really a need to have them re-valued?

An insurance appraisal provides a complete description of the jewelry for insurance purposes, along with the current retail replacement value at the time of the evaluation.

Re-valuations often take place when you bring your jewelry in for inspection. While Jewelers Mutual does not require annual valuations or inspections, we highly recommend them so the jeweler can check for any jewelry damage or wear and tear that could result in such problems as loose stones (and lost diamonds!), faulty clasps, or worn prongs. This is a good time to ask your jeweler to update the current retail replacement value, if necessary. Jewelry values may change over time and you want to make sure you have adequate limits of insurance.

Jewelry valuations and inspections are an important part of protecting jewelry. It is crucial to maintain current values, they help to prevent potential losses. As an added bonus, it’s a great opportunity to have your jewelry professionally cleaned, so your engagement ring sparkles just like the day your received it..

 

[makhro82]

I have Travelers and added my ring to my policy. Earlier this year I damaged my ring and reported it to them. My claims officer spoke to Mark at ERD to see how much it would cost with the current increase in gold and diamonds and within two weeks I had my check in hand to use wherever I wanted even though I went back to ERD. There was no significant increase in my policy, it worked just like they said it would (cash to me to use where I wanted), and it gets paid out of my escrow account each year so it's easy peasy for me.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

I guess the only thing that sounded like an advantage to Jewlers Mutual is that they will let you work with the Jeweler of your choice for replacement. It would be nice knowing that I could go back to the same place I bought the ring. While I"m waiting to confirm my guess is that the homeowners won't let you do the same.

I’m a fan of Jewelers Mutual and have been a long time customer but there’s a bit of slight of hand in this claim. They will allow you to work with the jeweler of your choice, but they are not agreeing to pay the jeweler whatever they want to do the job. They have a procedure to decide how much a particular job is worth, just like the other replacement companies do. It's a cost+ sort of formula and they will pay your guy THAT amount to do it no matter what he/she regularly charges. If he wants more, the ‘extra’ is on you or you can switch to another jeweler who charges lower prices. Their payment schedule is pretty fair, and I know of rather few jewelers who take exception with it.

As mentioned above, I think the #1 reason for a standalone policy is that it avoids claims activity on your homeowners policy for jewelry claims. The advantage of the homeowners policies is that you already have a relationship going with the company and agent and they have an incentive NOT to piss you off over a paltry jewelry claim since you probably have a car or 3, a house and possibly other things with them. They risk losing ALL of your business I they behave badly (or if you think they do). This makes the homeowners guys actually pretty solicitous at claims time. Also mentioned above, they’re all usually about the same price although I’m frequently surprised at some of the local differences. It definitely pays to shop insurance companies.

I would add another benefit to JM in that they are by and about jewelers. They know who makes what, what things cost and are generally well connected in the trade. The claims ajusters seem to be better skilled than many because they're so specialized.

I agree with all of the above. The folks at JM know the business and I've attended many jewelry industry conferences where their reps were present.