Insuring my diamond

[BrilliantDummie]

Hello all,

I have a separate thread going on for diamond purchasing but one topic I rarely ever see covered is insuring the diamond. I have seen people mention this and continue on to better discussions (stone cut, quality, size, price, etc., etc., etc.) in PS and other forums. Unfortunately, I like to have all information before I make big purchases.

Insurance is something I never thoguht of nor heard of for diamonds prior to PS forums and some light research led to some basic explanations and not much more.

Cost about $1-$2 per each 0.10ct of your diamond and usually cover theft, loss, or sometimes even accidental damage. Now my questions are:

How many of you get insurance for your diamonds?
Is it really necesary?
What are my options? What companies out there offer it?
What are the best companies/rates/policies?
How much should I expect to pay for a diamond close to 1ct?
How would I go about getting a quote/applying/activating the insurance once I pick the company I want to go with?
I want to make sure I cover all possible options such as theft, loss, accidental damage, damage due to setting the stone in a ring, chiping, etc.
Anything else that I did not think of would be greatly appreciated!

Thank You for all your help!
P.S. I live out in Northern California if that makes any difference in insurance companies.

 

[TC1987]

How many of you get insurance for your diamonds? -- Probably most. Some people in places like perhaps NYC said the insurance was extremely expensive, so they don't insure theirs. 2ct or 3ct in NYC must be a high risk, LOL

Is it really necesary? -- It depends. Are you willing to take the loss if the stone is damaged, stolen, or lost? I only insure the best of my diamond rings. The pawn shop diamond, the sim rings, etc.: Nope, because if you add up the insurance premiums over a few years, the premiums might soon equal replacement cost for some of those items. That's why people go uninsured.

What are my options? What companies out there offer it? -- Chubb and Jewelers Mutual were two that were discussed a lot. I went with Jewelers Mutual b/c it was a standalone policy, not tied to homeowners. I feel that JM, being a jewelry insurer, will not be a jackazz about replacing my AGS 000, and I'd not have to fight them tooth and nail to get an equivalent stone. My homeowners' company, well, they'd be trying to push off whatever cheapo thing they could find.

What are the best companies/rates/policies? -- JM is standalone. If you go w. a rider on homeowner's make sure that they will replace like with like, i.e. if you have a superideal, then they don't give you just a GIA good or fair cut.

How much should I expect to pay for a diamond close to 1ct? -- don't know

How would I go about getting a quote/applying/activating the insurance once I pick the company I want to go with? - (letting someone w/ more recent info answer that one)

I want to make sure I cover all possible options such as theft, loss, accidental damage, damage due to setting the stone in a ring, chiping, etc. -- I let the vendor I bought the tone from set it. I sent them the setting. That way, the selling vendor is responsible for damage to the stone in setting it. There's a thread on here where someone had a diamond damaged in setting it, and the jeweler didn't cover it because it was a stone brought in by the customer. But if you buy from that jeweler and have them set it, they are responsible.

 

[distracts]

How many of you get insurance for your diamonds?
Plenty on PS.

Is it really necesary?
Can you cover the replacement value of the diamond comfortably on your own without insurance? If so, insurance is probably not necessary. My husband and I COULD cover the replacement value of our rings without insurance, but a) we'd like to not have to, b) insurance lets us have extra peace of mind for a pretty small price per year, so we get it anyway. We only cover higher value items. Most of my jewelry is below $1k per piece, so would only be bad if all of it were to be stolen at once. Dunno really what to do about that. Right now I'm just accepting that risk.

What are my options? What companies out there offer it?
Your homeowner's may have a rider, otherwise Jeweler's Mutual/Perfect Circle is the only one that offers standalone policies. Compare coverage, prices, and replacement between the two. JM insures against pretty much anything - some homeowner's don't cover loss or theft that occurs elsewhere (on vacation, etc).

What are the best companies/rates/policies?
See above.

How much should I expect to pay for a diamond close to 1ct?
Depends on the insurer, where you live, value of the diamond (close to 1ct covers a large value range), and other stuff. In the area I'm in, with JM, I pay about $1 a year per $100 of coverage.

How would I go about getting a quote/applying/activating the insurance once I pick the company I want to go with?
Same way you would any other insurance? JM has a nifty thing you can just print, fill out, and send in. It's super duper easy.

I want to make sure I cover all possible options such as theft, loss, accidental damage, damage due to setting the stone in a ring, chiping, etc.
JM covers all these. USAA does as well (I'm currently with JM but thinking about switching to USAA since my other insurance is all with them). I don't know about other companies - you'll need to look up the personal property/valuables insurance online or call and ask. AFAIK JM only insurers pieces of jewelry, not loose stones, so in order to insure a stone during setting you need a receipt for the stone and a receipt for the setting, and to send those in and talk to them and then they'll insure it during setting? OR SOMETHING.

Anything else that I did not think of would be greatly appreciated!
Be sure to cover all addresses where the ring will reside. When I got engaged, I did not live with my husband, so the piece was insured through JM with both of our addresses. I don't know how this works if the coverage is through a rider on your homeowner's.

 

[kenny]

Insurance is 'not necessary' for my diamonds so I don't buy it.
Actually, I don't buy ANY insurance not legally required.
The minute my house is paid off I'll stop buying homeowners insurance.

A lifetime of saving all that would-be premium money really adds up.

Insurance is gambling.
You are betting you'll have a claim.
The insurance company is betting you won't.
That seems fair till you realize the odds are with the house.
They set premiums to cover ALL claims plus the cost of doing business, then add profit.

Personally, I don't fall for the fear-based thing of wanting nothing bad to ever happen to me.
It's called life.
Shit happens.
It probably won't.

If you like the idea of insurance, then buy it.
I don't, so I don't.

 

[OECsareforLovers]

Hi!

You can get a quick quote from Jewelers Mutual (like, you can enter your zip code and then enter the value of the jewelry and instantly get a quote. None of that enter all your info and then get spammed called for weeks).

http://www.perfectcircleinsurance.com/

I think you need to decide whether to insure or not based on the cost of your jewelry and your ability to replace it if lost/stolen/broken. Yes, insuring $50,000 rings is expensive, but insuring a $7500 ring is only $83 a year. So it would take you 90 years to pay more in premiums than the ring is worth. To me, that's worth it.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="kenny|1402012199|
If you like the idea of insurance, then buy it.
I don't, so I don't.[/quote]



Kenny...We're the only two dumb idiots here. I can't afford to pay the high insurance premiums...

 

[BrilliantDummie]

Thank you for your input guys. I just looked up on Jeweler's Mutual and it seems that to insure a diamond worth $7000 with no down payment would cost $110/year so about $9/per month. Not so bad maybe for the first year or so while the diamond is being set,ring is being resized, etc, etc. Food for thought for anyone who does not have that insurance just yet.

 

[Lorelei]

Also, I don't know if you have military connections but for those that do, USAA offer cover for jewellery.

 

[OoohShiny]

If I don't take an umbrella out, it will rain. If I do take an umbrella out, it won't rain and I'll be lugging the damn thing around everywhere.

If I wait in for a parcel delivery, they won't come until 5pm. If I nip out to the shop for 10 minutes at 8am, they will have been and gone and left a note that requires me to ring an expensive number to confirm I am me, and then drive miles out of my way to some remote distribution hub where I will have to wait in line for 15 minutes.

If I stand and keep an eye on something in the oven it will take ages to cook. If I leave the kitchen and go into another room for two minutes, whatever is in the oven will be overcooked and/or burnt.


You can see my luck, and hence understand why I buy insurance

 

[BrilliantDummie]

I guess here the philsophy applies:
"I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

Also, I don't know if you have military connections but for those that do, USAA offer cover for jewellery.

My e ring was covered under usaa along with my FI Rolex watches and for the heck of it, I ran a PC quote and perfect circle was about $50 cheaper a year so we moved everything over there.

 

[MarionC]

Thank you for your input guys. I just looked up on Jeweler's Mutual and it seems that to insure a diamond worth $7000 with no down payment would cost $110/year so about $9/per month. Not so bad maybe for the first year or so while the diamond is being set,ring is being resized, etc, etc. Food for thought for anyone who does not have that insurance just yet.

I signed on with Jeweler's Mutual when I started spending time on PS and buying diamonds.
I used to have my jewelry on my home owner's policy and all it covered was theft. I think I worry more about damage or loss out of a setting.
It gives me great peace of mind. I can wear my diamonds all the time, wear them anywhere and never worry if I will lose, break or chip one. It's worth it to me for that freedom to enjoy my jewelry.

 

[Roqsteady]

Insurance is 'not necessary' for my diamonds so I don't buy it.
Actually, I don't buy ANY insurance not legally required.
The minute my house is paid off I'll stop buying homeowners insurance.

A lifetime of saving all that would-be premium money really adds up.

Insurance is gambling.
You are betting you'll have a claim.
The insurance company is betting you won't.
That seems fair till you realize the odds are with the house.
They set premiums to cover ALL claims plus the cost of doing business, then add profit.

Personally, I don't fall for the fear-based thing of wanting nothing bad to ever happen to me.
It's called life.
Shit happens.
It probably won't.

If you like the idea of insurance, then buy it.
I don't, so I don't.

As someone who works in insurance, you are a rare consumer who is actually what we call "risk-neutral" whereas most people are "risk-adverse." Everyone should know that obviously premiums are calculated to earn a profit. However in theory insurance isn't so much about taking bets as it is about stabilizing volatility of your earnings. Many people (though I may be talking to a different demographic here on PS it being a diamond forum ) cannot handle a total loss to their car/home financially as that negative cash flow would cause a shock to their liquidity. Thus to eliminate even the possibility of that loss is worth it to them, and not just because they don't know what the odds of that possibility are. For example, the "peace of mind" that allows people to wear rings to more activities, or investors who hedge/insure their bets being able to take on new investments due to lower risks.

Now, if you are in a financial position to be able to handle any losses that come to you - absolutely, insurance is probably not needed for you (except first party liability for things like auto insurance, etc.) and you definitely will save money in the long run. But for large value items like homes - that long run could be 50+ years depending on your frequency of claims.

 

[TC1987]

...
The minute my house is paid off I'll stop buying homeowners insurance.

...

That would be foolish. Keep the homeowner's, unless you can go out and pay cash for another home and entire contents. I have zero sympathy for people who won't pay a few hundred dollars a year for homeowner's, then get burned out and are begging for help. You never know what the neighbors are up to, especially since they could be running portable meth labs or something equally hazardous.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/officials-working-to-determine-cause-of-mount-oliver-blaze/

 

[kenny]

...
The minute my house is paid off I'll stop buying homeowners insurance.

...

That would be foolish. Keep the homeowner's, unless you can go out and pay cash for another home and entire contents. I have zero sympathy for people who won't pay a few hundred dollars a year for homeowner's, then get burned out and are begging for help. You never know what the neighbors are up to, especially since they could be running portable meth labs or something equally hazardous.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/officials-working-to-determine-cause-of-mount-oliver-blaze/

Like I posted ... shit happens, but it probably won't.

Fear Fear Fear.

People vary.
I won't call you foolish for your choice to like insurance.

 

[TC1987]

Ha! I wouldn't care if you did. But house fires do occur, or houses get struck by lightning (this one has been hit at least 3x that I know of.) Whatever. I consider homeowner's to be a bargain. But I have antiques and other nice things that I just can't go to Ikea and replace.

 

[Dancing Fire]

...
The minute my house is paid off I'll stop buying homeowners insurance.

...

That would be foolish. Keep the homeowner's, unless you can go out and pay cash for another home and entire contents. I have zero sympathy for people who won't pay a few hundred dollars a year for homeowner's, then get burned out and are begging for help. You never know what the neighbors are up to, especially since they could be running portable meth labs or something equally hazardous.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/officials-working-to-determine-cause-of-mount-oliver-blaze/

Not likely b/c Kenny's ZIP code is 90210 ...

 

[Calliecake]

I insure all pieces that I could not replace quickly. Example: if I were to lose a $25,000 piece of jewelry would I be able to go tomorrow and spend another $25,000 to replace it without being stressed about it. To be honest regardless of how much money I have I know that I wouldn't want to spend that much because something happened to the piece. I would much rather pay the premiums and not worry about it.