Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Jewelers Mutual any problems with?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Stone Hunter

Stone Hunter

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 12, 2006
Messages
6,487
I am going to insure my new ring. After talking with my Homeowners and Jewelers Mutual I plan on using Jewelers Mutual. Does anyone have any cautions for me?

Thanks

P.S. There are no pictures of the ring to share because I don''t have it yet.
 
I am interested in a comparison of Chubb and Jeweler''s Mutual myself. In the past, I have always had my jewelry scheduled on our homeowners policy, but I all the items were $5000 or less. Now that I have a ring worth a lot more than that, I am considering a different policy for it.

My one hesitation with JM was that they require an appraisal update every three years. I had a fear that if I was late doing that, it might be an excuse not to cover the ring if it was lost in that time period.

I''d be curious to know Chubb''s policy, too.
 
Here is the thing I need to know. With both Chubb and JM, if your ring is lost, then do they just write you a check for the insured amount? In that case, could you choose to go with the amount paid or an inflated appraisal amount?
 
JM does not write a check out to you. It''s a replacement with like kind policy. Chubb does cash out.
 
Date: 10/27/2006 8:05:41 PM
Author: cpster
JM does not write a check out to you. It''s a replacement with like kind policy. Chubb does cash out.
Click to expand...
Ahha! Thank you. In that respect then, JM isn''t a lot better than adding the item to a homeowners policy.
 
I recently added my item to my homeower's policy. I'm freaking out now. I think I'm going to call Chubb first thing Monday morning. Does anyone know approximately what their yearly premiums are? (Or can someone give an example of what they currently pay?)
 
JM is attractive for new stone buyers that need insurance against breakage though. If you''re getting a setting from a vendor that is not the stone vendor, most likely the stone setting jeweler will not take responsiblity for breakage. I''m changing settings, so recently insured with JM.

Does anyone know if Chubb insures against breakage while setting when switching settings? I think they don''t insure loose stones at all.
 
Date: 10/27/2006 8:09:37 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Date: 10/27/2006 8:05:41 PM

Author: cpster

JM does not write a check out to you. It''s a replacement with like kind policy. Chubb does cash out.
Click to expand...

Ahha! Thank you. In that respect then, JM isn''t a lot better than adding the item to a homeowners policy.
Click to expand...

JM won''t cash you out but they will let you choose whom you want to replace your stone, which is different from most homeowners policy''s. We actually just recently changed out homeowners to Travelers because they offer a cash out if you schedule your jewelry with them on their homeowner''s rider. Our cars were already with them so it was easy to do and we actually save $ because we get a discount for having both ins. with them. I looked into chubb but they currently cannot write a policy for my state due to some changes in the laws so I had to find something else. Chubb is a little more expensive than most homeowners but worth it for many who would rather just be handed a check.
 
Date: 10/27/2006 8:12:09 PM
Author: Upside Down Man
I recently added my item to my homeower''s policy. I''m freaking out now. I think I''m going to call Chubb first thing Monday morning. Does anyone know approximately what their yearly premiums are? (Or can someone give an example of what they currently pay?)
Click to expand...
I don''t think you need to panic or anything like that! I''ve always had my jewelry on our homeowners. But I may switch it to Chubb if it''s not too much more. My main reason is that I might choose to replace the stone with a larger one or higher quality and I''d rather have the check to apply toward the new stone. However, I''ve been married a really long time and have never lost a piece of jewelry!
 

JM will write a check to you. The key is that they will only pay the amount that it would cost them to replace the piece with another of ‘like kind and quality’ from one of the jewelers in their network. This may be a different amount than what you have on the appraisal that you submit. If you want to shop somewhere else, or simply take the money and spend it an entirely different way, you are permitted to do so. This is the case with most homeowners policies as well. The liability determination is made based on the description included in the appraisal, not the bottom line number. In many cases, the insurance company can negotiate a better price with the jewelers than you can because they are huge volume repeat customers so their costs are can be lower than yours. Couple this with the tendency of jewelers to supply inflated ‘feel good’ type appraisals and the cash out value can be considerably lower than the face value of the policy.


Interestingly, in the Internet age, this is starting to reverse. The replacement jewelers work on a cost plus basis and the markup they are given is regularly more than what the popular internet jewelers take. It’s now not unusual for the replacement cost of the insurance company to be more than what you paid.


Chubb and few others work a little differently. They agree upon a value up front and that’s what they pay in the case of a loss. In the case of a partial loss, like a lost stone, they use the same procedure as most other companies.


Prices for all of the companies vary by quite a bit from company to company, state to state, from city to city and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. It pays to shop. JM has an easy price lookup system on their website and it ranges from 1%-2% of the declared value per year. Chubb you have to ask, they don’t insure all markets but the policies they quote usually seem to be about double the price.


Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
thanks neil, that''s good to know about JM. Whenever I looked at their website I never saw where they would cash out and thought it was a replacement type policy only.
 
Thank you all for responding. I have been off searching PS for info. on insurance. Now my head is spinning.
26.gif


Your posts state the facts clearly and I could have avoided searching the old outdated threads if I''d just waited for you.

The bottom line is how IMPORTANT the appraisal is. I am glad I have one scheduled. I will insure the ring prior to the appraisal with the "appraisal" that comes from the vendor and then update my policy with the real appraisal. I am concerned that the one that comes from the vendor will list a "feel good price." And that it may not have the detail I would need in case I ever need to make a claim.
 
I was just browsing the JM website and ran across this section:

"To help reduce losses and to assure that your jewelry is insured for the proper value, we require periodic inspections of your insured items. During inspections, your jeweler can identify small problems, such as loose stones, worn prongs, and faulty clasps, before they become bigger ones. Most jewelry values increase over time, so routine inspections are important for maintaining current values and adequate insurance limits. Inspections also are a great opportunity to have your jewelry cleaned."

What do those of us who choose to purchase online do for inspections? I know those who purchase from B&M''s have the cleanings and inspections built into the price of their ring. Do we send it back to the online vendor for inspection or pay a local jeweler? Sorry - I hope I did not get off topic.
 
It''s not off topic. You can take the ring to any jeweler to check the ring and update the value. I know that from when I called and talked to JM.
 
Date: 10/27/2006 8:38:50 PM
Author: denverappraiser

JM will write a check to you. The key is that they will only pay the amount that it would cost them to replace the piece with another of ‘like kind and quality’ from one of the jewelers in their network. This may be a different amount than what you have on the appraisal that you submit. If you want to shop somewhere else, or simply take the money and spend it an entirely different way, you are permitted to do so. This is the case with most homeowners policies as well. The liability determination is made based on the description included in the appraisal, not the bottom line number. In many cases, the insurance company can negotiate a better price with the jewelers than you can because they are huge volume repeat customers so their costs are can be lower than yours. Couple this with the tendency of jewelers to supply inflated ‘feel good’ type appraisals and the cash out value can be considerably lower than the face value of the policy.



Interestingly, in the Internet age, this is starting to reverse. The replacement jewelers work on a cost plus basis and the markup they are given is regularly more than what the popular internet jewelers take. It’s now not unusual for the replacement cost of the insurance company to be more than what you paid.



Chubb and few others work a little differently. They agree upon a value up front and that’s what they pay in the case of a loss. In the case of a partial loss, like a lost stone, they use the same procedure as most other companies.



Prices for all of the companies vary by quite a bit from company to company, state to state, from city to city and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. It pays to shop. JM has an easy price lookup system on their website and it ranges from 1%-2% of the declared value per year. Chubb you have to ask, they don’t insure all markets but the policies they quote usually seem to be about double the price.



Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
Click to expand...
Okay, so Neil, it sounds like with JM or homeowner''s, we wouldn''t want to insure for much more (or any more) than the purchase price because they are not going to allow us more than their discounted value regardless of what our "insurance valuation" paper says, right?

In the case of Chubb, you wouldn''t want to either because it sounds like their premiums are a lot higher.

Is this right or not?
 
Chubb premiums are higher, but they DO insure loose stones.

In my case, the Chubb premium was about a hundred dollars higher than a rider on my homeowner''s insurance. I went with the homeowner''s. My insurance won''t cash out like Chubb will, but I figured I would want to replace the diamond anyway. So to protect myself, I got a detailed appraisal to force my insurance company to get a replacement diamond as close to our current diamond as possible. And I''ll save a hundred dollars every year.

Some may prefer Chubb and are willing to pay the higher premium, because they have the option of cashing out. With the money in hand, at least they can shop around and even upgrade to a better diamond because they''ll be paid the agreed upon appraisal value (by Chubb), which is usually greater than the cost of the lost/stolen diamond.
 
I actually got a quote from both JM and Chubb...and Chubb was less expensive...so I went with them. I think I'm paying around $230 or $250 annually (in NC)...need to double check though.

One thing that really deterred FI and me was that with JM, we couldn't use the insurance money towards a more expensive stone if we were in a better financial position in the future and the ring got lost or stolen. I understand why they do that, but we didn't like not having the option.
 

Chubb is a high quality company and the claims process is far less difficult than most but it’s no free lunch. You pay more for what you get. They have tons of happy clients.


One of the core problems with insurance is that it’s fundamentally based on predicting the future. The potential payout will occur in a marketplace that doesn’t exist at the time the policy is written after all. Since appraisers are paid, it costs to change these things and it’s consequently prudent to have a certain buffer of coverage above what you anticipate the actual cost of recovery to be but, in concept, this last dollar of coverage is less valuable to you than the first because of the possibility of it going unused even in a claim. For most people, a bit of extra coverage makes some sense if they don’t go overboard in pretending that something is more valuable than it is.

How the company’s cost of replacement compares to what you paid will depend on what you bought and how well you shop. Some things are pretty hard for the jewelers to replace while others are fairly easy and not everyone shops the same way. Just because a client paid too much during their cruise vacation doesn't mean that the company should have to pay too much for the replacement.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 
Date: 10/27/2006 11:50:29 PM
Author: FacetFire
I actually got a quote from both JM and Chubb...and Chubb was less expensive...so I went with them. I think I'm paying around $230 or $250 annually (in NC)...need to double check though.

One thing that really deterred FI and me was that with JM, we couldn't use the insurance money towards a more expensive stone if we were in a better financial position in the future and the ring got lost or stolen. I understand why they do that, but we didn't like not having the option.
Click to expand...
Within the limits I described above, JM will have no problem allowing you to use the insurance money towards a completely different item if you prefer. That said, if the price is the same, or even reasonably close, I would recommend Chubb for most clients because of the added flexibility and the ease of the claims process.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Date: 10/27/2006 11:50:29 PM
Author: FacetFire
I actually got a quote from both JM and Chubb...and Chubb was less expensive...so I went with them. I think I'm paying around $230 or $250 annually (in NC)...need to double check though.

One thing that really deterred FI and me was that with JM, we couldn't use the insurance money towards a more expensive stone if we were in a better financial position in the future and the ring got lost or stolen. I understand why they do that, but we didn't like not having the option.
Click to expand...
FF, what part of the state are you in? I am very encouraged to hear the Chubb premiums were decent! How much is your ring covered for?

(ETA: I see you are near CH. I am about 3 hours from there.)
 
Neil, thank you so much for explaining all this!
 
Ditto. Thanks for the clarification Neil!
 
Diamondseeker and Cpster.
You’re welcome. It’s a remarkably counterintuitive system.
Date: 10/27/2006 9:55:40 PM
Author: OliveOpal

What do those of us who choose to purchase online do for inspections? I know those who purchase from B&M's have the cleanings and inspections built into the price of their ring. Do we send it back to the online vendor for inspection or pay a local jeweler? Sorry - I hope I did not get off topic.
Click to expand...

OliveOpal.
Most sensible jewelers, especially those who offer repair services, are thrilled to see you come in for your inspection with your jewelry purchased elsewhere as long as you don’t habitually abuse them by taking advantage of their ‘free’ services without ever doing any actual business. It gets you into the store, it allows the salespeople to sell you something while you wait and it leads to sales of repair work if something is required. It’s really a no lose deal for them. There are a few who are pissy about the whole Internet business but even they are coming to their senses. Repair can be a pretty good business and this is a major source of customers. If you wear a piece every day of your life, eventually it's going to need some repair.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 
Date: 10/28/2006 12:08:01 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 10/27/2006 11:50:29 PM
Author: FacetFire
I actually got a quote from both JM and Chubb...and Chubb was less expensive...so I went with them. I think I''m paying around $230 or $250 annually (in NC)...need to double check though.

One thing that really deterred FI and me was that with JM, we couldn''t use the insurance money towards a more expensive stone if we were in a better financial position in the future and the ring got lost or stolen. I understand why they do that, but we didn''t like not having the option.
Click to expand...
FF, what part of the state are you in? I am very encouraged to hear the Chubb premiums were decent! How much is your ring covered for?

(ETA: I see you are near CH. I am about 3 hours from there.)
Click to expand...
I think we ended up getting it appraised/insured for about $23,500. I''ll double-check on that too though...all my documents are still packed from the move.
 
Ah, here it is...$269 annually for $23,415 value. Hope that helps!
 
Date: 10/28/2006 9:24:37 AM
Author: FacetFire
Ah, here it is...$269 annually for $23,415 value. Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Oh that is fantastic!!! I believe my homeowner's was charging us $220 to add on my ring valued at $18,000!!!

And this was a stand alone policy, right? You didn't get other Chubb insurance?

(ETA: No I was wrong about that. The ring was insured for $18000 and the diamond wedding band at $4000, so the total was $22,000. So it was $1 per hundred of coverage. But I'd probably only be putting the solitaire ring on Chubb anyway.0
 
Date: 10/28/2006 9:34:08 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 10/28/2006 9:24:37 AM
Author: FacetFire
Ah, here it is...$269 annually for $23,415 value. Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Oh that is fantastic!!! I believe my homeowner''s was charging us $220 to add on my ring valued at $18,000!!!

And this was a stand alone policy, right? You didn''t get other Chubb insurance?

(ETA: No I was wrong about that. The ring was insured for $18000 and the diamond wedding band at $4000, so the total was $22,000. So it was $1 per hundred of coverage. But I''d probably only be putting the solitaire ring on Chubb anyway.0
Click to expand...
Yup, stand alone policy through Bill Castro at Total Dollar Insurance. www.totaldollar.com
 
Date: 10/27/2006 8:15:41 PM
Author: cpster
JM is attractive for new stone buyers that need insurance against breakage though. If you''re getting a setting from a vendor that is not the stone vendor, most likely the stone setting jeweler will not take responsiblity for breakage. I''m changing settings, so recently insured with JM.
Click to expand...
So how does this work? If your jeweler chips or breaks a stone, does the insurance just replace it? Do they take posession of the damaged diamond and have it recut to get some value back out of it or do you get to keep the damaged diamond (or does the jeweler)? Maybe it''s a silly question, but I''m interested in how this works because I got my diamond on line and it has a very thin girdle. My jeweler never said they would not take responsibility for it so I think they would, but if not and they do chip it at some point, I would want to know how they handle the claim. I think it would be upset if they said they''d pay to have it recut and reimburse for the difference in value instead of replacing the diamond.
 

Greetings! I would like to clarify a few points made in this discussion.


1. Jewelers Mutual offers a repair and replacement policy to help reduce fraud and keep premiums affordable.


2. As a JM insured, you work with your preferred jeweler for a repair or replacement with the same quality as the original. An earlier message in this discussion said that you must work with our network of jewelers. That is not correct.


3. We require that you have your jewelry inspected and values reviewed every three years. When an inspection is required, you will receive a renewal offer that includes an inspection form for your jeweler to sign and clear instructions. If you have special circumstances that make getting an inspection difficult – e.g., you are on a long vacation or are moving - we can extend the deadline for the inspection. Just call us.


4. When you need an inspection for jewelry purchased online, you will take the insured item(s) to an appraiser or local jeweler for inspection and value update. Some jewelers and charge for this; others don’t. Appraisers generally charge for this if they did not provide the original insurance report/appraisal.


5. Here is the process if a jeweler breaks your insured stone while working on it. You have several options.


a) If the chip is small and you want to keep your original stone, the jeweler can have your stone recut. Your JM policy pays for the recutting and reimburses you for the loss of value between your original stone and the recut stone, based on weight.


b) If the damage is extensive or you request a replacement rather than a recut stone, we will pay the jeweler to obtain another stone of the same quality, within your policy limits. Jewelers Mutual owns the original stone because we have replaced it with a new stone.


c) If you chose a replacement stone, but also want to keep the original (perhaps for sentimental reasons), you can purchase it. Just let us know.


When you are satisfied with the repair or replacement, we will pay the jeweler directly.


6. Regarding upgrades, certainly customers may pay an additional amount to upgrade an item that is being replaced under a JM policy. We just need to have the documentation from the jeweler for the cost to replace the original item.


Sue Fritz
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top