Jewelers Mutual offers Preventive Repairs

[WinkHPD]

I got this from Jewelers Mutual this morning and I find it to be good business, as well as good marketing. JM will provide coverage for preventative repairs. Smart, in my opinion, as it will both help prevent losses that will cost them a LOT more than the repairs, but it will also make people feel good about their insurer as well as their jeweler. I will mark the part from JM in blue below.

I am curious what people think about this policy. Do you find it meaningful to you, or is it one of those things that you do not care about?

In addition to comprehensive protection against loss, theft, damage and mysterious disappearance, Jewelers Mutual's personal jewelry insurance policy also provides coverage for preventive repairs. Repairing a jewelry item early helps policyholders avoid a larger, more painful jewelry loss.

Our personal jewelry policy includes coverage for the following types of repairs:

Prong retipping
Repair of broken, worn or bent prongs
Clasp replacement
Restringing of broken or stretched pearl strands
Stone tightening
Repair of broken earring posts

Wink

 

[kenny]

I'm confused.
Is it free? (actually, IOW is it factored into the premiums)

Or is it an optional service for which you pay a fee each time you use it, or is a certain amount added to the premiums regardless of whether you remember to bring in your jewelry or not?
Does it costs less than the jeweler would charge (I doubt it since there are now two mouths to feed).
Do I pay the jeweler, then submit the receipt to JM for reimbursement?

Do they vet the jeweler's bench for competence?
If so, this would be a very valuable service since they might have enough claim data to judge benches, and a financial interest in finding and recommending competent benchmen/women.

Perhaps one business model would be lower premiums for owners who, not just promise to but, actually DO bring in their jewelry in to JM-approved benches for servicing every six months.
If you miss a visit your premium goes up.

If JM charges the same price per service as the jeweler would charge then it's really just a reminder-service to prevent lost stones.
... still a good thing.

 

[WinkHPD]

Good questions Kenny.

It is my understanding that there is no additional charge for this. JM will work with the jeweler of your choice and they will pay the jeweler directly. It is meant to be a vehicle to drive you back in to visit your jeweler who sold you the piece and who suggested JM to you.

This is why I think it is such good marketing on their part. They reduce the likelihood of having to make a pay out and increase the likelihood that the client will see something else at their jewelers that they can not live without, which also increases the likelihood that you will now be paying premiums on more than one item.

To me it looks like a win for JM, a win for the jeweler, and most importantly, a win for the JM insured.

Wink

 

[kenny]

Thanks Wink.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Good questions Kenny.

It is my understanding that there is no additional charge for this. JM will work with the jeweler of your choice and they will pay the jeweler directly. It is meant to be a vehicle to drive you back in to visit your jeweler who sold you the piece and who suggested JM to you.

This is why I think it is such good marketing on their part. They reduce the likelihood of having to make a pay out and increase the likelihood that the client will see something else at their jewelers that they can not live without, which also increases the likelihood that you will now be paying premiums on more than one item.

To me it looks like a win for JM, a win for the jeweler, and most importantly, a win for the JM insured.

Wink

From what we understand the above is a good summation. I also think it is smart marketing. It appears to be a case of a company taking a deep look at their data and finding a way to add more value to the consumer.

 

[UrsTx]

I have JM coverage. My ques would be will they cover shipping (both ways) too for a preventative repair? My ring is from Leon Mege and insured shipping is not cheap bw Texas and New York.

 

[WinkHPD]

I suspect not, but that would be a question to ask JM.

Wink

 

[Texas Leaguer]

I have JM coverage. My ques would be will they cover shipping (both ways) too for a preventative repair? My ring is from Leon Mege and insured shipping is not cheap bw Texas and New York.

That's a very good question, especially as it applies to remote internet purchases. We were supposed to meet with JM representatives this week to discuss the details but the meeting was postponed. I will report back with updates as we get a better understanding of the particulars of the new benefit.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Many people are not buying their JM policy through a jeweler, so it seems like it wouldn't matter what jeweler you use for those services. With a mobile society like ours, even if people buy a ring locally, it doesn't mean they still live there 5,10, or 20 years down the road.

But bottom line, nothing is free.

 

[denverappraiser]

I have a LOT of customers who go the direction of JM and, depending on it works, this is definitely a valuable feature. With a lot of the retailers, 'free' repairs like this is a significant piece of their sales pitch but it most definitely is not portable between stores or cities. Even if it's limited to stores with JM commercial policies, that's a significant offer.

I'm also curious that certain preventative repairs, like retipping an opal ring for example, can be quite difficult and require a fair amount of time and skill. Such repairs may be expensive. Surely there are limits here.

 

[JessicaV]

Thank you for the great conversation around our preventive repair coverage. To address a few of the questions, coverage for additional prevent repairs are included with our personal jewelry policy, so our policyholders automatically receive this coverage at no extra cost. Even an expensive retipping job could be covered, based on your customer’s coverage value.
Jewelers Mutual’s coverage includes the following preventive repairs:
• Prong retipping
• Repair of broken, worn or bent prongs
• Clasp replacement
• Restringing of broken or stretched pearl strands
• Stone tightening
• Repair of broken earring posts

After the jeweler completes the work on the customer’s piece, they would provide Jewelers Mutual the cost of the repair parts, material and labor (just as they would invoice their customer) and Jewelers Mutual will pay them directly for their work. If you have any additional questions on our coverage, please give us a call at 800-558-6411, ext. 2118.

 

[kenny]

Jessica, thanks for stopping in and answering our questions.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Yes Thank you Jessica!!
We have had nothing but AMAZING experiences dealing with Jewelers Mutual on replacement claims.
Many of our items are more rare and harder to replace- yet JM has allowed the clients tremendous flexibility in having us replace their clients Fancy Colored Diamonds- as well as some colorless ones.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Yes Thank you Jessica!!
We have had nothing but AMAZING experiences dealing with Jewelers Mutual on replacement claims.
Many of our items are more rare and harder to replace- yet JM has allowed the clients tremendous flexibility in having us replace their clients Fancy Colored Diamonds- as well as some colorless ones.

I will second that. Whiteflash has been dealing with JM for seven years, and my experience with them goes back much further than that. They have been exemplary in the way they have handled each and every claim our customers have had.

 

[frugalfw]

Jessica V,

Could you please clarify one thing -- does Jeweler's Mutual also cover shipping (both ways) for a preventative repair when the Jeweler is out of town? This is a real scenario for many of us on Pricescope since a lot of us have made purchases by out of town custom jewelers & designers, and would prefer to have the original jeweler maintain the pieces.

 

[WinkHPD]

I want to chime in as another jeweler who has had fantastic success with helping my clients with JM.

Seems to me they have it figured out.

Give people a fair value and then give them incredible service. If you lose a little more than you hoped to on one job you will make it up with the referrals that you will get for treating the claimants the way they should be treated.

My wife worked for the head of the Idaho Department of Insurance until he retired and some of the stories that I heard just made my teeth rattle. (Only one jewelry story, the rest were other things, cars, homes etc. I was involved with the jewelry story, on the claimant's side and I am happy to say we won the day on that one, but it was NOT easy. The insurance company tried to claim criminal fraud rather than pay the claim, long story, probably best not repeated in public, but let us just say that in the end the claim was paid in full.)

Now my wife is working for the head of the State Fire Marshall's office. There were some whopping good stories came out of all of our wildfires this summer too.

Wink