Ahha! Thank you. In that respect then, JM isn''t a lot better than adding the item to a homeowners policy.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
Oh that is fantastic!!! I believe my homeowner's was charging us $220 to add on my ring valued at $18,000!!!
Yup, stand alone policy through Bill Castro at Total Dollar Insurance. www.totaldollar.com
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.
300x240.png)
