Insuring a $5000 ring WITHOUT homeowner''s coverage - help?

[aussiegirl23]

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend are in the process of planning an e-ring and with that comes appraising it and insuring it. I realize it may seem premature to be worrying about insurance when we haven''t even bought the ring, but both of us are seriously long-term planners and getting all these details worked out beforehand is important to us!

Any good options for those of us who do NOT have home-owner''s insurance?

Also, I''m realizing the ring we are planning ($5000 max budget) is considerably less valuable than most of the rings on this site.

I like the sound of the "cash out" policy of Chubb, but it sounds like my ring would be on the extremely low end of their business, if not entirely off the charts?

That being said, any suggestions?
Thanks,

Aussiegirl : p

 

[Munchkin]

When I got my ring insured through State Farm, they told me they also have a cash-out option. They were wonderful to work with. I purchased renter's insurance at the same time, but I was told that they can do just a jewelry policy.
Hope that helps!
Munchkin

 

[Selkie]

I just insured my ring, which is of similar value, through Jeweler's Mutual: www.jewelersmutual.com . We're getting renter's insurance separately, but I decided I wanted specific insurance for the ring and I thought that JM seemed liked the best option for us. They allow you to work with a jeweler of your choice, and replace the item with "one of like kind and quality."

The application process was easy, and the rates seemed reasonable to me. My premium is $81/yr. I just sent the appraisal that the jeweler included with the ring.

 

[londonblue]

i see no reason why chubb wouldn''t insure you. i just insured my ring which was less than 5k, with the band added, over 5k. give william castro @ totaldollar.com a call. another agent in sf,ca who''s been recently mentioned will also insure you for chubb.

 

[froufrou]

for chubb total appraised value HAS to be over 5,000 though otherwise they won''t talk to you (at least this is what happened to me).

 

[aussiegirl23]

Thank you guys!

I''d looked at State Farm''s website and hadn''t seen jewelery mentioned at all - I hadn''t called yet, but figured a little advice first couldn''t hurt. Jeweler''s Mutual looks good as well, and I''ll certainly try Chubb and see what happens (why does it seem like they''re so inconsistent?)

Also, How did you guys negotiate the timing of the appraisal and insurance? You go pick up the ring, or receive it in the mail, and then weren''t there a few days it wasn''t covered? Were you worried? How do you get it covered quickly?

Thanks for your help!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[diamondlove]

hi Aussiegirl23,

What we did was have the diamonds (or diamond if you have narrowed it down to one) we were considering mailed to our independent appraiser for him to verify and look at and also for us to look at and make our decision. We made our decision and purchased the stone and took it home. In retrospect, what was nice about that was that the stone was still considered a possession of the jeweler''s during this process so it was still protected under their insurance (although the appraiser probably has insurance covering it on premise as well).

We were unable to get coverage until days after we took the stone home so there were those days when it was not insured but we had coverage in place before we shipped it out to the jeweler who is setting the stone so that it will be covered in the course of being set and protected in case of any damage or loss.

what you can do is something similar but just have your coverage in place before you take the stone home (if you''d rather not go without insurance for any days). It honestly only took Jeweler''s Mutual a day to get the coverage in place but we wasted a few days waiting on responses from various Chubb''s agents which was a really frustrating experience before finding out that the one agent who was willing to provide independent jewelery coverage did not have the right licensing for Texas.

We also looked into our insurance company who we use for auto and home but they do not provide loose stone coverage which may not be applicable to you if you are getting it set beforehand.


DL

 

[Selkie]

Date: 6/22/2006 10:59:43 AM
Author: aussiegirl23
Thank you guys!

Also, How did you guys negotiate the timing of the appraisal and insurance? You go pick up the ring, or receive it in the mail, and then weren''t there a few days it wasn''t covered? Were you worried? How do you get it covered quickly?

Thanks for your help!

Aussiegirl : p

The jeweler sent the ring to us via USPS registered mail, which involves more secure handling and tracking throughout the entire shipment process. It''s not the same as insured mail which only covers items up to $500, but it is considered a very safe (if slower) method of sending valuable items. So we didn''t insure the ring until it arrived here. JM allows you to apply online, and coverage becomes active pretty quickly, if not immediately. You then have to send them a physical copy of the appraisal, either via mail or fax. I called them a few days ago because they hadn''t yet processed my payment, but they had received my appraisal and I had active coverage from the time they received my application.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Okay, thanks, I wasn''t sure if you could set up the policy before you actually had the ring appraised. That makes me feel a lot better!

 

[diamondlove]

You do need the appraisal in place before you obtain coverage. JM needs the appraised value (not purchase price) and appraisal information.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Didn''t Selkie just say that through JM she got coverage and then sent in the appraisal paperwork? So if you can''t get the ring appraised the day you receive it, you''ll be uninsured for those days? How can you avoid this?

 

[jaz464]

I use State Farm as well and I was also told that they do cash out. So far, I have been very pleased with their service.

 

[diamondlove]

Are you planning on having an independent appraiser verify the stone before you purchase it (I highly suggest it-- it''s recommended to get an independent appraiser''s evaluation before you buy the stone)? If you get a verification, the appraiser might be able to give an appraisal value for you to be insured in the meantime and then you will still have to submit a complete appraisal once the stone is completed.

If not, there are a lot of variations depending on whether you are getting the diamond set first before having it sent from the jeweler or if you are going to have it loose and then set with a different jeweler. You might want to just decide what course of action you are choosing to go with first and THEN verify with the insurance company what they need from you at that moment in time.

I''m not sure what Selkie''s experience was but I knew that JM needed my appraisal amt before coverage was provided because they told me that so I had to wait a few days until my appraiser came back from vacation just to get that report sent to them before coverage was given to me.

Good luck. I am also a preplanner as well but don''t worry too much until you know what stone you are buying and how you are setting it bc the situation might change unless you know for sure you want the loose stone to be looked at by an appraiser first prepurchase.


DL

 

[Selkie]

Just wanted to clarify...the jeweler who made my ring appraised it as well, and sent the appraisal with the ring. I used the value given in the appraisal when I filled out the online application. I sent the physical copy of the appraisal in the mail the same day. I'll have to double check exactly when the coverage became active, but I think it was within a day. Faxing the appraisal would make it even faster. You can probably find out if your jeweler will supply an appraisal with your ring, you may not need to have it independently appraised. That speed things up for your insurance application.

 

[Selkie]

Another thing to note. Appraisals can vary widely depending who does them. In my case, the appraisal was actually very close to the actual purchase price of the ring, because it was the jeweler himself who did the appraisal. If your appraisal is done independently, and turns out to be significantly higher than the purchase price, (which is often the case), you may end up paying a higher premium than you need to. I''m not THAT familiar with the ins and outs of insurance and appraisals, but I know there''s a lot of older threads on the topic. You might want to check that out, to help you decide how to go about the appraisal process.