Jewelers Mutual, are they always like this?

[Sparkleho]

I got engaged before Christmas with a 3.54 OEC. I applied for a policy through jewelers mutual 2 weeks ago, they’ve emailed me 3 separate times asking more questions which was fine, but the second to last email ( last Tuesday) was asking about my occupation and wanting the company I work for etc. I replied that I am self employed and I do not have a company website or company name. I didn’t hear back from them so I emailed them on Friday asking for an update and they replied late last night saying they needed proof of my employment. Seems insane to me? Not to mention they’ve been taking days to reply to me. Has anyone had this experience? I assumed it would a relatively easy and quick experience.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Wow- I've not heard of something like this before- thanks for sharing!
Generally speaking, they do take a day or two to respond to emails, or return calls....maybe it's worse now due to COVID?

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I didn't experience anything like that, but I haven't insured anything new recently. Thanks for sharing. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Kim N]

I insured an item a year ago and they didn't ask me those questions.

 

[Sparkleho]

 

[Sparkleho]

 

[Sparkleho]

This was after I replied letting her know I do not have a company I work for, I’m self employed.

 

[AprilBaby]

That’s odD, I have never been asked that. Maybe because the value of the item?

 

[prettypaper01]

Maybe it is due to very high value? I just insured my ring through them so I could send to BG and I didn't have to answer any of these questions. Can you verify the sender address to make sure it isn't spam / fraud?

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Alarming.

 

[Karl_K]

This was after I replied letting her know I do not have a company I work for, I’m self employed.

I am going to assume your in the U.S.
In the U.S. and your self employed your also the business name unless you have a dba.
So the answer to that is:
I do business as "your name" in the field of ........
If you have a linkedin profile send them a link to that if you do not have a webpage for the work you offer.

 

[Sparkleho]

I am going to assume your in the U.S.
In the U.S. and your self employed your also the business name unless you have a dba.
So the answer to that is:
I do business as "your name" in the field of ........
If you have a linkedin profile send them a link to that if you do not have a webpage for the work you offer.

I am not in the US, , I am a content creator. I replied and they were satisfied with my answer, just super invasive and strange to me. I feel like I’m getting a mortgage . Just strange that my occupation matters, at all.

 

[Sparkleho]

Maybe it is due to very high value? I just insured my ring through them so I could send to BG and I didn't have to answer any of these questions. Can you verify the sender address to make sure it isn't spam / fraud?

It’s from them ! I would consider it a moderate value, but nothing insane or what I’d consider very high value. Thankfully they’ve finally approved me.

 

[Bron357]

I worked in insurance, your rings value has lifted the level of “underwriting” investigation needed.
Insurance companies make money from taking premiums and NOT paying out on claims. That’s the business model.
Your rings value is possibly at a risk level they don’t feel comfortable with. Do you have house and home contents insurance with anyone?
What they are looking at is “are you likely to make a claim” and the possibility of a fraudulent claim is never far from their mind.
They want to be comforted by you having a good job with years of service = less likely you are a potential fraudster.
The other questions are typical, jewellery left a home - where do you live (suburb risk profile) do you have security (alarm, video, cameras) do you have a safe (hidden, too heavy to move) jewellery worn to work (if you have to take it off and store in your handbag or locker) also possible damage resulting in loss if you are around machinery or doing manual work using your hands (packing, lifting etc).
The question about construction workers (as well as home help like cleaner, baby sitter, gardener) means assessing people who are “potential” thieves in your home. However if you read your policy you will likely find that there has to be “signs of forced / illegal entry” meaning if you allowed anyone in your home then a claim of theft can’t be made.
And that’s the most important thing about any insurance policy.
Read EVERY WORD of the policy. You need to know when you are covered and when you aren’t. I’ll say it again, Insurance companies make money by collecting premiums, they do NOT like paying out claims.

 

[elle_chris]

I had mine insured in June of last year and they did not ask me any of that.

They're probably asking you these questions because you're not in the US. I have no doubt they have different requirements/protocols for different countries. That would only make sense.

 

[Sparkleho]

I worked in insurance, your rings value has lifted the level of “underwriting” investigation needed.
Insurance companies make money from taking premiums and NOT paying out on claims. That’s the business model.
Your rings value is possibly at a risk level they don’t feel comfortable with. Do you have house and home contents insurance with anyone?
What they are looking at is “are you likely to make a claim” and the possibility of a fraudulent claim is never far from their mind.
They want to be comforted by you having a good job with years of service = less likely you are a potential fraudster.
The other questions are typical, jewellery left a home - where do you live (suburb risk profile) do you have security (alarm, video, cameras) do you have a safe (hidden, too heavy to move) jewellery worn to work (if you have to take it off and store in your handbag or locker) also possible damage resulting in loss if you are around machinery or doing manual work using your hands (packing, lifting etc).
The question about construction workers (as well as home help like cleaner, baby sitter, gardener) means assessing people who are “potential” thieves in your home. However if you read your policy you will likely find that there has to be “signs of forced / illegal entry” meaning if you allowed anyone in your home then a claim of theft can’t be made.
And that’s the most important thing about any insurance policy.
Read EVERY WORD of the policy. You need to know when you are covered and when you aren’t. I’ll say it again, Insurance companies make money by collecting premiums, they do NOT like paying out claims.

The other questions absolutely made sense to me, wanting links to my work was what I thought was absolutely bizarre.

 

[Sparkleho]

I had mine insured in June of last year and they did not ask me any of that.

They're probably asking you these questions because you're not in the US. I have no doubt they have different requirements/protocols for different countries. That would only make sense.

I’m in Canada.

 

[Austina]

We recently insured through them. They wouldn’t accept my previous valuations, (from the UK), so I had to go and get them done again. They took quite a while to process our application for insurance. I had to download an App to submit sideview and face on photographs of my rings, despite the appraisers very comprehensive report on each item, with photos. I’m retired, so they didn’t ask about work, but they were the only company we could get to insure my rings.

 

[Lookinagain]

I would find that very intrusive as well. I've never been asked any questions like that by any insurer. To my mind, the premium charged is where their evaluation of the risk comes into play. I've never insured through them so I'm asking if the premium rises or falls based on your answers? Or do they charge a premium based on a certain dollar per thousand of the value of the item insured? If it's so much per thousand, then the questions shouldn't be part of the equation. If the premium fluctuates based on your answers, then I guess I understand them.

 

[Sparkleho]

I would find that very intrusive as well. I've never been asked any questions like that by any insurer. To my mind, the premium charged is where their evaluation of the risk comes into play. I've never insured through them so I'm asking if the premium rises or falls based on your answers? Or do they charge a premium based on a certain dollar per thousand of the value of the item insured? If it's so much per thousand, then the questions shouldn't be part of the equation. If the premium fluctuates based on your answers, then I guess I understand them.

My premium is $25 more a year than they estimated when I did their calculator. I assume it’s based on the value.

 

[Niel]

Yeah like bron mentioned your value kicked the quote over to underwriting for review.
Underwriting job is to evaluate your risk. All those bulleted questions make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Niel]

My premium is $25 more a year than they estimated when I did their calculator. I assume it’s based on the value.

Plenty of things besides value drive rates.
In an ideal world it would be a perfect calculation. Put in your info insurance kicks out a rate to satisfy the risk of insuring you everyone’s happy. For a number of reasons it’s not that precise and that’s why insurance companies need underwriting.

 

[Niel]

I would find that very intrusive as well. I've never been asked any questions like that by any insurer. To my mind, the premium charged is where their evaluation of the risk comes into play. I've never insured through them so I'm asking if the premium rises or falls based on your answers? Or do they charge a premium based on a certain dollar per thousand of the value of the item insured? If it's so much per thousand, then the questions shouldn't be part of the equation. If the premium fluctuates based on your answers, then I guess I understand them.

Those questions wouldn’t change the premium , I would expect, if they were premium baring they would have just added the questions into the quote to begin with. The questions are to determine overall eligibility. If the underwriter isn’t satisfied with the answers they’ll decline the risk entirely.

High end items often gets these kinds of questions. Who had access to it? how do you store it? Do you have experience taking care of it?

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I am self employed and have Jeweler's Mutual. I insure my diamond stud earrings and engagement ring with them, totaling about 150K USD. I've never had any problems with them. I did have to let them know my occupation, which is not a "normal" occupation, but they didn't bat an eye. Maybe its that you are not in the US?

 

[Lookinagain]

Those questions wouldn’t change the premium , I would expect, if they were premium baring they would have just added the questions into the quote to begin with. The questions are to determine overall eligibility. If the underwriter isn’t satisfied with the answers they’ll decline the risk entirely.

High end items often gets these kinds of questions. Who had access to it? how do you store it? Do you have experience taking care of it?

I would think that those questions or rather the answers to them might play into whether the insurer wanted to charge an "extra hazardous" premium. Sort of like "do you have a trampoline in your back yard" or "what breed is your dog". I wasn't aware that she initially filled out a questionnaire. I thought she had referred to using an online calculator a few posts up thread, which I assumed (maybe erroneously) was fairly basic. But I agree, if she filled out a questionnaire to get her initial premium, then those questions should have been included if they would impact the cost.

 

[Garnetgirl]

A friend of mine who is an insurance broker once said that the better insurance companies do their underwriting before issuing a policy; others (who may have cheaper premiums) do their underwriting when the customer makes a claim!

 

[Niel]

I would think that those questions or rather the answers to them might play into whether the insurer wanted to charge an "extra hazardous" premium. Sort of like "do you have a trampoline in your back yard" or "what breed is your dog". I wasn't aware that she initially filled out a questionnaire. I thought she had referred to using an online calculator a few posts up thread, which I assumed (maybe erroneously) was fairly basic. But I agree, if she filled out a questionnaire to get her initial premium, then those questions should have been included if they would impact the cost.

I think maybe you’re making some assumptions about underwriting, rating, and insurance.

Either way, it’s very normal to ask these kinds of questions and typically it’s because they cannot just take on more rate for individual risks. So it’s moreso a pass / fail.

 

[Dmndsr4evr11]

I got engaged before Christmas with a 3.54 OEC. I applied for a policy through jewelers mutual 2 weeks ago, they’ve emailed me 3 separate times asking more questions which was fine, but the second to last email ( last Tuesday) was asking about my occupation and wanting the company I work for etc. I replied that I am self employed and I do not have a company website or company name. I didn’t hear back from them so I emailed them on Friday asking for an update and they replied late last night saying they needed proof of my employment. Seems insane to me? Not to mention they’ve been taking days to reply to me. Has anyone had this experience? I assumed it would a relatively easy and quick experience.

Like others, I was never asked those questions. Odd.

 

[JulieN]

Let's say your occupation was a book editor and you work from home. If you lose your ring, it is probably at home and you'll find it again. If instead you were a travel nurse, you'd be traveling to different cities, and if you lost your ring, the finder isn't going to turn it in, and if they did, no one would know it is yours.

Occupation isn't a protected class in the US. Using occupation for rates or underwriting is generally fine... It is increasingly a gray area for personal auto, where we are legally required to buy insurance; affordability and availability are important social concerns. No one is concerned with consumer affordability and availability for jewelry insurance.

I'm guessing that there's a lot of uncertainty in the future replacement value due to the high value unique item, COVID-19 supply chain issues, and general inflationary environment we are in.

 

[LilAlex]

I think like with any insurer -- home, health, auto, etc. -- those demographic variables are predictors of future claims. You know that they want you to pay decades of premiums and never file a claim. Because this is not like a home or auto (there is no central jewelry registry or annual tax or fee), it must be easy to fake a loss or theft. The safest bet for them is someone who can afford to lose the gems (i.e., will not file a fraudulent claim) but still feels compelled to get the insurance.