insurance - in particular, Chubb - please help!!

[scapel]

Thanks to the wealth of information here and the advice of many of you, I have purchased a beautiful diamond for my girlfriend. Since it will be here in the next day or so I need to get insurance on this quick but have a question:

A Chubb agent in the bay area had quoted 370.00!!

for an appraisal (retail value) of $14000.00, who by the way first quoted 271.00 but accidently forgot to add the brokers fee.

Since I did not pay retail on this diamond, I wanted to go with a number somewhere in between but the agent said this is not possible!

Can anyone of you out there in the bay area provide some advice on whether this is true of Chubb? Are there any insurance companies that don't require other policies with them that will replace for the full appraisal value, which is my second choice to chubb?

Thanks!!

 

[derekinla]

I insured my fiance's engagement ring which appraised for 16k through Chubb and the final bill came to about 500 bucks!!! (Los Angeles area)

 

[scapel]

Derek: 500 bucks!!! And I thought my quote was bad. I heard the LA premiums are higher. Sorry to hear that.
Have you considered Jewelers mutual? I know they don't have a cash settlement but their terms look good otherwise.
Thanks

 

[Arlington]

Derek - were you forced to insure this for the full appraisal amount or were you able to insure it for just the price you paid (or slightly more)?

 

[fire&ice]

In some respects, it depends on your relationship w/ the insurer. If you are just starting out & don't have multiple insurance policies, you are at their mercy.

Unfortunatley, rates are based on where you live. So what someone else pays in middle America will be different for one in a big city.

That said, I'm not a big fan of Chubb's. Had a couple of bad experiences. They do indeed offer a cash settlement, which is a plus. If you don't go w/ Chubb's, if you document the heck out of your stone, then your replacement will be just that.

Check the rates of jeweler's mutual. You can do it on-line.

Also, someone else needs to jump in, I believe that one can insure through Chubbs w/ their corporate. I think they have a special engagement ring policy. Worth checking into - especially since the broker is charging you almost $100.00 for a fee - EVERY year.

 

[Mara]

I am in the BayArea and we insured our ring for $10k for $200 a year. We didn't use a broker so we didn't pay a fee. We used Chubb directly but I guess I hear now that they don't allow that unless you bought your ring at Blue Nile.




Insurance is directly related to your area of residence and amount of insurance. Our agent with Chubb let us insure it for whatever we wanted...our appraisal was a little more than what we got insurance for and we didn't want to pay the extra amount in insurance, we wanted to insure it for what we paid mostly. So they said that was fine. Or we could have done appraisal amount. I'd call another agent...there is one that has been recommended in the past on the forums for Chubb....and see what he says. You don't have to use one particular Chubb agent..that's good news at least.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 10/10/2003 2:24:50 PM Mara wrote:


We used Chubb directly but I guess I hear now that they don't allow that unless you bought your ring at Blue Nile.


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Was the Blue Nile thing for loose stones only?

If not, does it sound legal that Chubbs would only insure purchases coming from *one* retailer?

Why Blue Nile? What's their reasoning? Anyone know?

 

[Mara]

I have no idea F&I..I thought that maybe Chubb was partnering with BN or something for marketing purposes..or maybe they were purchased or BN was purchased by a firm that holds Chubb or similar? Maybe LawGem, our local Law Gem, can let us know if he knows more details or has heard anything about it in his illustrious and secretive circles. (Though we all know he's really an actor).

 

[fire&ice]

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On 10/10/2003 3:17:09 PM Mara wrote:


Maybe LawGem, our local Law Gem, can let us know if he knows more details or has heard anything about it in his illustrious and secretive circles. (Though we all know he's really an actor).
----------------

I think he just moonlights as Ben. I'd love to hear if he is able to comment on this.

Are you certain about the Chubbs corporate only insuring BN rings? I heard a blurb about them only insuring BN loose stones. I wasn't certain about excluding all rings except BN ones.

 

[Mara]

Oh I am not sure at all--but the last few posts on here people said they were rebuffed by Chubb--and I didn't think they were JUST trying to insure loose stones, but rather entire rings? Who insures loose stones anyway--for the most part? Seems like most people would do the entire ring.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 10/10/2003 3:33:08 PM Mara wrote:


Who insures loose stones anyway--for the most part? Seems like most people would do the entire ring.
----------------

OH, I certainly did. My insurer balked a bit; but, he agreed. I had to keep it in my safe deposit box. There was a lapse of well over a month between procuring my stone & setting the stone into the setting. I wasn't entirely sold on what setting. Then, when I decided, the setting came in over two weeks later.

I just want to be sure about corporate not insuring the rings anymore. Reading many of the posts it seems like many don't get a correct answer or the run around from Chubbs.

Rockdoc seems to know the most about Chubbs policy.

I'll do some sluething. Someone posted the toll free number to call for this thing.

 

[scapel]

Mara, Fire&Ice, thanks for your advice...I always look out for your posts.

It makes me so mad that you have to sleuth around within even the same insurance company to get the straight answers!!

Yeah, I hate the thought of having to pay $100.00 every year just for brokers fee especially as it seems that other chubb agents are willing to go with an amount you decide (like Mara). Two bayarea agents have already said no to that.

Yeah, the bluenile things sounds alittle odd! I'm going to try calling corporate to see if I can deal directly with them. In the meanwhile I have checked out Jewelers Mutual and it seems to sound good. Although it is not a cash out policy it appears that you can replace with a jeweler of your choice for the full appraisal value? (which is another option for me). I got a quote for $210.00.

 

[Kay]

----------------
On 10/10/2003 2:24:50 PM Mara wrote:


I am in the BayArea and we insured our ring for $10k for $200 a year. We didn't use a broker so we didn't pay a fee. We used Chubb directly but I guess I hear now that they don't allow that unless you bought your ring at Blue Nile.


.


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Mara, do you know if the new policy to only insure diamonds from Blue Nile will affect renewals of insurance policies already in force? I insured my diamond from Whiteflash directly with the Chubb corporate office in March (after getting the run-around from local agents who weren't interested unless I also purchased homeowner's, etc. from them), but now I am concerned they might not renew the policy next March.

 

[Mikesgirl]

I received a Chubb flyer with my Blue Nile ring. I believe that Blue Nile has an arrangement to offer insurance through Chubb to it's buyers (with this flyer) and Chubb offers to use Blue Nile for replacement jewelry as an alternative to the cash settlement. The say that they will cover loose diamonds and gemstones, as well as jewelry. Perhaps, because Blue Nile is in effect the broker, they do not require Blue Nile customers to go through a broker.

They state in the flyer that their rates are between 1% and 3% of the value of the ring, "For example, insurance for a $5,000 ring would typically cost between $50 and $150 per year." It does not state "the appraised value" and I certainly think you could make the argument that the value is what you paid for it.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Mara]

Kay I'm not really sure on the renewals, but I don't think so from previous posts I have read..I think if you have insurance with Chubb already--theres no real reason for you to have to work through an agent for anything else, Chubb just continues to bill you directly as they have already. I guess we'll find out..my policy is up in Feb of next year too....but I'm not really worried.




Maybe someone like RockDoc or SPYGIRL can set things straight for us with some super-sleuthing.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 10/11/2003 1:33:09 AM Mara wrote:


>Maybe someone like RockDoc or SPYGIRL can set things straight for us with some super-sleuthing.

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Actually, if Kay posts the phone # for chubbs corporate, I think a phone call will answer all of our questions.

Sounds from Mikesgirl's post that BN & Chubbs are chummy - doesn't me they have exclusivity.

While insurance companies can cancel policies somewhat willy nilly, if you are a customer in good standing w/ no claims then you're probably O.K.

 

[Antignos]

Ok so here is the story on Insurance. I own an independent insurance agency in Las Vegas so I have a pretty good understanding. Rates can vary from place to place and from company to company so do some shopping. The best way to insurance the ring is on your home insurance. It's always going to be a bit cheaper than going with Jewelers mutual etc. Rates can vary anywhere from 1.00 to 2.00 per hundred dollars. so If your insuring a 10,000 ring it's going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100.00 to 200.00. We don't charge broker fees in Nevada and I think they are crap. I would go to the Chubb webpage www.chubb.com and look for some different agents in your neighborhood and ask them if they want to do the insurance without a broker fee.

Other options are getting an Elite home policy with Encompass who will insurance jewelry up to 10,000 with no per item limit and they will cover mysterious disappearance. Most companies cover 1,500 tops. If you don't own a home get renter's insurance it's the same. If anyone has any insurance questions feel free to email me and I'll gladly help out [email protected]

Good Luck

 

[Antignos]

Ok so here is the story on Insurance. I own an independent insurance agency in Las Vegas so I have a pretty good understanding. Rates can vary from place to place and from company to company so do some shopping. The best way to insurance the ring is on your home insurance. It's always going to be a bit cheaper than going with Jewelers mutual etc. Rates can vary anywhere from 1.00 to 2.00 per hundred dollars. so If your insuring a 10,000 ring it's going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100.00 to 200.00. We don't charge broker fees in Nevada and I think they are crap. I would go to the Chubb webpage www.chubb.com and look for some different agents in your neighborhood and ask them if they want to do the insurance without a broker fee.

Other options are getting an Elite home policy with Encompass who will insurance jewelry up to 10,000 with no per item limit and they will cover mysterious disappearance. Most companies cover 1,500 tops. If you don't own a home get renter's insurance it's the same. If anyone has any insurance questions feel free to email me and I'll gladly help out [email protected]

Good Luck

 

[ninasstar]

Since you are an insurance agent....I need help please. Ilive in Southern CA. and need to insure a loose diamond I recently purchased. I've called around and no one will insure it until after it's set. It will be set within the next week or so, but I really would like to have it insured before it's sent off to be set....i don't want anything to happen to the stone and not have it insured. Any recommendations? I'm in San Diego. Thanks

 

[reena]

from a future san diegoan to a current one:

chubb will insure loose diamonds.