Why You Need Insurance for Your Diamond

[kenny]

Kenny:

Look, no one is forcing you to buy insurance. For most people, the things that create financial instability are unexpected losses. I understand by insuring everything from my car, to the contents of my rental unit, to the diamond engagement ring... I am probably throwing money down a pit. But on the off chance that my fiance-to-be bashes her ring, drops it down a drain, throws it away with her nitrile gloves at work...etc... I think that she will not cry for quite so long and I will not agonize over purchasing a new ring and regarding the "Lost" value. For me, that is worth 100 dollars per year. For MY purposes, I couldn't disagree more.

I am not an idiot nor am I an insurance company's fool. I know they are making money for a service they provide, and I am OK with that. However, I am confident that she will be able to LIVE in her diamond engagement ring, and that peace of mind is worth the price.

Look, no one is forcing you to not buy insurance.

You are perfect.
I'm perfect.
One way is never right for everyone.

People vary.

 

[kenny]

where do you stand on medical coverage?

I self insure.

 

[Christina...]

where do you stand on medical coverage?

I self insure.

I don't think your logic is wrong, but your a braver person than I am! Likely we would have saved a significant amount doing it your way, but I'm paranoid that a horrible disease will rear it's ugly head and leave our sons college fund and our retirement contributions completely wiped out. Of course you couldn't possibly plan for these things and even with health coverage people lose their entire life savings, but it would break my heart if DH and DS were left penniless because we didn't plan for the worst. I haven't attempted to figure out how much savings it would take to cover a horrible long or even short term illness, but I'm guessing that we wouldn't be able to afford to self insure regardless. Healthcare cost are out of control!

Completely off topic I know, but healthcare insurers always negotiate for a lower rate, as a private pay party, are you able to negotiate these same discounts?

 

[kenny]

Completely off topic I know, but healthcare insurers always negotiate for a lower rate, as a private pay party, are you able to negotiate these same discounts?

Often yes.
It is astonishing, what you can get if you only ask.
Never do it over the phone.
Drive there and make an appointment to speak to the person in charge of the billing dept, preferably with your doctor present.

Look them in the eye and ask, "What is the lowest rate an insurance company has negotiated for this service?" Will you give me that rate too? I'm only one person."
Many people cannot look you in the eye and lie.
"Oh, and will you let me pay X dollars a month over time without interest?"

 

[susimoo]

I disagree.
I don't need insurance for my diamond.
Diamond insurance is not a need it is a want and it's optional.

The VAST majority of insured diamonds will never have a claim.
All those premium checks will go to pay for the insurance industry's employees and infrastructure and a new Porsche for the CEO's daughter.
Yes, a tiny minority of customers will have a claim.

I self insure on many things by just putting money in the bank that would have paid for insurance premiums.
If there is a claim I'll make a withdrawal.
I've done this over my life, almost 60 years.
I have never been a 'claim', so all that money is just sitting there.

Insurance is gambling.
You are gambling there will be a loss.
The insurance company is gambling there won't be, BUT THEY DO THE MATH AND SET THE PREMIUM so they can pay all the claims and make MASSIVE profits on top of that.

I don't gamble.
I'd rather keep my money to fund Octavias and FCDs.

But people vary, so some do 'need' insurance.
One way is never right for everyone.

Great pics Rhino!

I agree with you, but also have the same feelings as Yssie. I'm curious though...where do you stand on medical coverage?

I have the same feelings as Kenny. My FCDs are uninsured, as is the rest of my jewelry - including Poppy. I would NOT be able to replace her if something were to happen. But I know the risks and am planning accordingly. Obviously I would be very unhappy if that ring were to be damaged or stolen...but with insurance premiums here (which are thousands more than $100/year!), I'd be able to purchase Poppy all over again within 15 years of insurance premiums. If I live to 80 and nothing happens to her, that's 3.5x times her purchase price into the pockets of the insurance company!

Medical insurance is completely different to me. I can easily live without my jewelry, and would be somewhat bummed to do so. I can not live without medical insurance. If you lose your jewelry with no insurance, it's a loss of money already spent. If you fall desperately ill without medical insurance, it's incurring an exponential debt of money you have yet to earn.

I am with ginger on this. I got a quote from a jewellery insurance company for my Emilya halo ring only. Not my matching band or any of my other significant pieces. The preliminary quote was almost $900 a YEAR!!!!

Well, I had to pass. It just wasn't worth it. Like Ginger has said previously, in a matter of a decade or two i would have paid for my ring over again. Just not feasible. If I had access to the premiums you all have in the US, then it would be a no brainer. I would have it. However, over here in Oz, just not financially worth it.

Rea

 

[makhro82]

where do you stand on medical coverage?

I self insure.

I don't think your logic is wrong, but your a braver person than I am! Likely we would have saved a significant amount doing it your way, but I'm paranoid that a horrible disease will rear it's ugly head and leave our sons college fund and our retirement contributions completely wiped out. Of course you couldn't possibly plan for these things and even with health coverage people lose their entire life savings, but it would break my heart if DH and DS were left penniless because we didn't plan for the worst. I haven't attempted to figure out how much savings it would take to cover a horrible long or even short term illness, but I'm guessing that we wouldn't be able to afford to self insure regardless. Healthcare cost are out of control!

Completely off topic I know, but healthcare insurers always negotiate for a lower rate, as a private pay party, are you able to negotiate these same discounts?

My parents literally owe hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical debts. Unless you are seriously wealthy I don't think it is worth the risk because something "minor" can cause quite a bit of debt and no one wants to worry about whether or not they should get this procedure or take this medicine based on finances.

I see insuring my ring like I see insuring my car and home, I hate parting with the premiums but if something were to happen I don't want finances to be a factor. When I lost my ring recently I was sad but I knew it could be quickly and easily replaced (luckily I found it). I am currently paying about $200 a year for insurance on all three rings. I don't think that is a lot for the peace of mind I get.

 

[Stephny691]

I insure everything that I really care about- my dog and cats and any future e-ring. When I tell people about pet insurance they look at me aghast like "You spend £75 a MONTH insuring your pets?!"

My dog that passed away recently cost £60 a month to insure by herself, she had epilepsy from 6 months old and over the course of her life had vets bills of over £30,000. There is no way on this planet that had she not been insured we could have afforded her.

Okay the above was not about jewellery, but my long-winded point is that a lot of people spend months if not years putting money away for special pieces of jewellery and I don't know about most peoples financials here, but I can afford say £10 extra a month on insurance, but if I damage or lost a ring that had taken me 5 years to save up for- I would not be able to replace that. It would just be gone and I would spend another 5 years having to save for another one.

 

[ame]

These photos are what my nightmares are made of. As you know, Jon, I have great insurance. I hope I never need it again, but I will *NEVER* not have insurance on my pieces!

 

[Rhino]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

SB21, Christina and Maximus ... thank you for sharing this about https://www.usaa.com/ I've never really heard of these guys before but coming from all of you ... I'll have to include this among my recommendations for clients when they ask. And perks OVER Jewelers Mutual? Christina ... care to share?

 

[lovebug1031]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

SB21, Christina and Maximus ... thank you for sharing this about https://www.usaa.com/ I've never really heard of these guys before but coming from all of you ... I'll have to include this among my recommendations for clients when they ask. And perks OVER Jewelers Mutual? Christina ... care to share?

What additional perks did USAA have over JM?? Just curious...

 

[nowicanseethemoon]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

SB21, Christina and Maximus ... thank you for sharing this about https://www.usaa.com/ I've never really heard of these guys before but coming from all of you ... I'll have to include this among my recommendations for clients when they ask. And perks OVER Jewelers Mutual? Christina ... care to share?

What additional perks did USAA have over JM?? Just curious...

I'm trying to decide on insurance right now too (and whether to insure). I'd love to hear your thoughts on JM v USAA.

 

[Upgradable]

Rhino, what will become of this chipped round?
Do you have to give it to the insurance company?

If not would the customer or you recut it?
What would be the loss from before the damage compared to after the recut? 50%?

Insurance company gets it. We're just replacing.

How would you replace that stone? Imagining the "before," the cut looks incredibly wonky! May I ask what the replacement value would be?

 

[lovebug1031]

Rhino, what will become of this chipped round?
Do you have to give it to the insurance company?

If not would the customer or you recut it?
What would be the loss from before the damage compared to after the recut? 50%?

Insurance company gets it. We're just replacing.

How would you replace that stone? Imagining the "before," the cut looks incredibly wonky! May I ask what the replacement value would be?

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe some ins. replaces with like quality, so if you have a Good cut round, I VS2 - they'll replace it with like, other ins. co. just cut a check, so if you want to "upgrade" and throw in more $ you can.

 

[trhs12]

Seems like part of the debate about insuring jewelry has to do with where you live and what your premiums are going to cost you. For curiosities sake, when getting quotes from Jewelers Mutual I not only put in my ZIP code, but also a bunch of other ZIP codes, varying from really nice areas to really sketchy ones. The premiums can vary significantly. It would be hard to justify 5% worth of value every year, but for me, it's easy to justify 1%.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

So do you two have homeowner's insurance with USAA and then have a jewelry rider or do you have a stand-alone jewelry policy?

USAA is only available to people who have served in the military or whose parents did and have USAA insurance. So some of us cannot get insurance through them.

 

[armywife13]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

SB21, Christina and Maximus ... thank you for sharing this about https://www.usaa.com/ I've never really heard of these guys before but coming from all of you ... I'll have to include this among my recommendations for clients when they ask. And perks OVER Jewelers Mutual? Christina ... care to share?

Hopefully SB will chime in and explain further because she has more experience with insuring jewelry with them than I do, as I just recently set up insurance on my jewelry with them.

So far my experience with them for jewelry insurance has been great. The first reason I went to them was because I know that they offer great rates on their insurance. We use them for auto and renters insurance- their rates couldn't be beat on those, and likewise with the jewelry insurance(valuable personal property insurance). One of the major perks is that they offer a cash out option if you do not like their replacement options. With antique jewelry and old cuts, they generally cut a check for you almost immediately as they do not have the means to offer replacements. Another great bonus, at least for me, is that they will insure my jewelry while we are stationed overseas. If I had went with a company like Jewelers Mutual, I would have no coverage when we are overseas.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No you don't...I have been saving all the insurance premiums so that I can buy another diamond from GOG... I would much rather let Rhino take my $$$ then the insurance Co.

Haha! I like this philosophy!

However, I have to insure my main e-ring diamond because it would be too financially painful to replace if something happened to it. My studs are covered because I think earrings are easier to lose. But that is about it. The rest I have to self-insure. Except I did find out today that my homeowners would cover all personal property including unscheduled jewelry in the event of a fire. I would be in trouble if there was a robbery. I do need to make an itemized list of everything I have an document value and include photos, and we should all have that in a safe place not at home.

One important factor is that I never, ever use inflated values for insurance. That is a scam and I only insure for what I paid or the current TRUE replacement value (from internet vendors) in the case of something bought second hand that would have to be replaced at retail.

 

[armywife13]

My renters tack-on would have only included up to 2500 in coverage. Had to initiate a discreet Valuable Personal Property plan which costs <1% of total value annually through USAA.

I have this coverage as well, and it has additional perks too, which was the whole reason for changing over from JM.

Me 3!!! I love USAA. I have made 2 claims with them over 8 years, very easy and got my check within 2 weeks both times. Since they were well documented pieces USAA didn't even try to replace them. Just cut me a check. While it may not be worth it to some, this accident prone girl will continue to insure everything that would be hard to replace in lost/stolen/damaged. I would much rather be safe then sorry.

So do you two have homeowner's insurance with USAA and then have a jewelry rider or do you have a stand-alone jewelry policy?

USAA is only available to people who have served in the military or whose parents did and have USAA insurance. So some of us cannot get insurance through them.

When I set up my valuable personal property insurance, they did require that we homeowners or renter insurance, which we already did.

You are correct about the requirements to use USAA. In addition to what you listed, it is also available to anyone whose parents had insurance through them, even if they do not currently. So for example, my father(no military service) can get USAA insurance because my grandfather served in the Army. Since my father has USAA insurance, my brother(no military service) can also get it.

For a brief time, I recall USAA opening up their services to the general public too. Unfortunately it didn't seem to last too long.