Jewelers that do not require appraisals?

[winnietucker]

So I had my old diamond reset into a pendant today but my jeweler doesn’t offer appraisals, only receipts. My diamond is GIA certified. The setting cost $427 and the receipt has the GIA number on it. I already paid for an appraisal on my old wedding set and don’t want to do it again. It cost me $150 for an inflated appraisal... I’m ok with being a little under insured but I do not want to be uninsured. Is there any insurance company that will let me just submit the receipt and the cert?

I’ve contacted my homeowners policy but they also require an appraisal. The appraisal for the necklace would be $125 and take a week so I’m trying to avoid it.

 

[oldminer]

The price you just paid for the item is highly likely to be adequate to replace the item at the current market level unless what you bought was some kind of relatively rare estate item that just can't be made on demand with today's labor rates and newly cut diamond pricing. The market for jewelry changes daily and for what often may seem no reason. Anyone could be under-insured on a given day or over-insured on another. A little bit of cushion from what you paid on an appraisal provides a bit of security and comfort, but too much cushion in the price really makes the insurance cost too much. Such reports are "feel good" reports, but your wallet is going to suffer in silence.

There are many reasons why appraisers and appraisals are inserted into the mix when you wish to have insurance coverage. The best reason for an appraisal done by an expert, independent appraiser, is that the completeness of the description and the credible witness to the item, in person, makes it extremely difficult for some random adjuster, after you have made a loss claim, to give you an improper replacement. Such a complete appraisal will function better than a retailer's receipt alone. The GIA report is reasonably complete on a diamond, but does not cover the mounting which for many folks has importance physically and sentimentally.

Not everyone chooses to pay for an appraisal, but appraisers tend to be reasonably busy. The fees are necessary in this world of high costs to just remain in business. My own work often is on truly high value items and the fees seem reasonable to customers who are rather high wealth individuals. They are accustomed to paying the going rate for expertise. Each individual needs to judge if they require only a receipt or a full independent appraisal.

Just like you need to decide if you want to pay every year for insurance or just try hard not to have a loss and save the cost of coverage. It is a highly personal choice, but when you are able to buy costly jewelry, there really is not much reason to then have an issue with your choices when it comes to the cost of ownership. It is simply a choice and is solved by taking either path to your own satisfaction. Free appraisals are often worth just what was paid for them. Often such appraisals are highly self-serving and often inflated for no legitimate reason. Caveat Emptor.

 

[MamaBee]

@winnietucker I recently had my studs reset to a bezel setting from a four prong setting. I was able to call my insurance company and just update the information...They didn’t ask for a new appraisal. If they did I was going to take them off..Mine are overinsured...so I won’t get a new appraisal again because I know they replace the diamonds..not pay out in cash. I will be good for a while..

 

[sledge]

When I bought my wife's diamond, JM didn't require more than the receipt from BGD. In fact I think you can insure for 10% extra IIRC.

Depending on the value of the piece you recently had done, are you aware most homeowner and renter policies have some built in coverage? It's fairly limited, usually $2,500 to $5,000 but it may fit the bill for your needs. It may not be your solution but it's worth understanding.

For more sacred and valuable pieces like an e-ring I personally prefer a separate policy with higher limits. Hence the reason my wife's e-ring and wedding band has its own policy. My wedding band which isn't very expensive has no such policy and I would simply use my homeowners policy in the event of a loss, if I were to submit a claim at all.

 

[winnietucker]

@oldminer I may choose to find another appraiser. I started calling around. But last time they appraised my old wedding set at over $15k (which is nowhere near what it would cost to replace) so I’m not eager to use the same one.

@Mamabean Who do you use? I’m very close to putting it on my homeowners policy. I preferred to keep them separate so I’m still looking around.

@sledge I have Jewelers Mutual! They have insured my diamond from the beginning so I’m disappointed they’re now insisting on another appraisal. They said that the issue is they need an appraisal to determine the value of my diamond. They would not take comps with the same specs online to determine the value.

 

[oldminer]

Appraisers are mostly capable of coming close to realistic transaction prices, but many consumers are totally uncomfortable with having the bargain they believed they purchased turn into a normal discounted purchase at a fair price. When you have an appraiser appointment, ask the appraiser to provide a near transaction estimate and to not inflate the end result. Most appraisers will not be insulted or surprised by a realistic and fair request such as that.

 

[MamaBee]

@oldminer I may choose to find another appraiser. I started calling around. But last time they appraised my old wedding set at over $15k (which is nowhere near what it would cost to replace) so I’m not eager to use the same one.

@Mamabean Who do you use? I’m very close to putting it on my homeowners policy. I preferred to keep them separate so I’m still looking around.

@sledge I have Jewelers Mutual! They have insured my diamond from the beginning so I’m disappointed they’re now insisting on another appraisal. They said that the issue is they need an appraisal to determine the value of my diamond. They would not take comps with the same specs online to determine the value.

@winnietucker I have USAA

 

[distracts]

I use Jeweler's Mutual and I have insured most things with the receipt. The only times I have had the jeweler do an appraisal or gotten a separate one are when I bought the stone years before (my mahenge spinel ring, for instance, where it was years between purchase and setting and prices more than doubled in that time).

If this is a reset of a diamond you already owned, I am not surprised that they need an appraisal.

 

[sledge]

JM accepted my receipts for the BGD stone and custom DK setting. I never asked them to do comps.

In fact just a few months ago I renewed the policy. Nearly had a heart attack. A month or two prior to the renewal I had lost my bank card and USAA promptly replaced it. Apparently, I forgot to update JM with the new card number and we had a small lapse in coverage. It was easy peasy though. They just took the new number and charged for a new policy. No requirement for an updated appraisal or anything like that.

By chance, did you request a different insured amount or is your policy older? With the renewal we are now into the second year.

 

[CSpan]

@winnietucker I have USAA

We also use them, I only have coverage on my ER everything under $5000 is covered under the blanket policy (part of the jewelry policy). I never have to submit anything for those pieces but was advised to have photos to prove I owned them

 

[denverappraiser]

In answer to your question, there are plenty of insurance companies that will bind a policy based on a receipt and the lab doc. Most actually. Shop your insurance company. The appraisal is not for the benefit of the insurance company, it's for the benefit of YOU. See David's comments above about the merits of a well written and complete report. A weak or non-existant appraisal benefits the insurer.

I'll add one more comment. One of the primary reasons people seek out independent appraisers for new purchases is as a quality control step. Is it the correct stone? Is it damaged? Is it set correctly and securely? what about the other stones and materials? These are not insurance questions and I have yet to see a seller written report that addresses any of this.

 

[Bron357]

To be a certified appraiser you usually need a Gemology qualification plus an appraiser qualification.
there is the jewellery ”appraisal” you often get from a “mall type” jeweller “inflated” to make you feel you got a good buy and the professional quantified and qualified appraisal for insurance purposes to ensure, should you experience a loss, you will get a fair replacement.
i worked in General insurance aka jewellery claims many years ago. When a claim came in and was approved (read very carefully the fine print of your policy to understand what constitutes a loss) the idea was to provide either the cheapest similar, usually choosing a specific supplier AND demanding a discount to wholesale pricing, to replace. If significantly under insured, you might even get your claim denied or offered a cash payment.
trust me, insurance companies want to make money from premiums and minimize or deny any claim payments!
if it’s worth over $1,000 and you don’t want to risk a loss or compensation for loss, get a proper appraisal.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Avoid an inflated appraisal by telling the appraiser upfront that you do not want inflated value and show comps perhaps for an online diamond and you have the receipt for the value of the setting. If you are paying for the appraisal, you have a right to give all the information you want to show the value. I always insure with purchase receipts and grading reports for new pieces (actually I only insure two items). But my policy pays me cash for a loss. Once I received an inflated insurance appraisal with a purchase, and I contacted them and said I wanted the replacement value to be what I paid, and they changed it for me.

 

[WinkHPD]

Back in the dark ages, before email even, I used to do a lot of insurance replacements. Diamond seeker and others are giving good advice, do not pay for inflated appraisals, the insurance company will only pay what they have to to replace the article.

Wink