High Valued Jewelry, Watches, Furs, Guns, etc.
Did you know that most Clermont homeowner insurance policies have limitations for theft when it comes to high valued items like jewelry, furs, guns? etc... Because of this you have to be very careful to make sure you contact Southern Insurance Group to make sure that you are covered properly. Because of the limitations under a homeowner insurance policy, the best thing to do is schedule these high valued items. By scheduling them, you will need a standard appraisal or bill of sale within the past two years. By having this, we will be able to insure these high valued items for the proper replacement cost.
A jewelry floater policy also gives you better coverage then under a standard homeowner policy. A homeowner policy does not cover your high valued items for loss due to mysterious disappearance. This means that if you can't locate the item in question, your floater policy will provide coverage for this exposure. As mentioned, a homeowner policy will not cover this exposure. Also, if a stone falls out a homeowner policy will not cover this but a jewelry floater policy will. Lastly, most jewelry floater policies do not have a deductible while your homeowner policy does.
If you are wondering how much a jewelry policy will cost you, it is typically less that you might think. Most of our jewelry policies range between 13-50 and 15.00 per thousand of coverage. This means if you have a ring that is worth 10,000 it will cost around 135 a year to insure the ring for all risk.
Who technically owns the engagement ring?
You have been nervous for weeks if not for months about the question that you are about to ask that will change you life forever. You bought the ring, based the value on 3 month of your income and are ready to pop the big question. The time comes, you planned the location and the setting, and the right time to pop the question. you get down on one knee, ask her if she'll spend the rest of her life with you and wait on pins and needles for the reply.
She starts crying and you quickly evaluate to see if the tears are of joy or sadness when she looks at you and screams YESSSSS! you are so excited as you place the ring on her finger. At this very moment, the ring becomes a gift and if the wedding never takes place she is the rightful owner of the said ring. If he demands it back, it is technically not longer his and is up to her whether or not she wants to give it back to him.
Because of the above situation, when the ring goes to the fiance, the fiance actually has to insure the ring due to the same ownership reason mentioned above. If the husband says I bought the ring and it is technically mine and I want to insure it. Unfortunately, he won't be able to. The agency will tell him that it is no longer his when he gave it to his finance. Until you get married you are not considered one until you officially get married. When you get married, then what his is hers and vice-versa.
Jewelry is by far the most common high-value item to be insured. (That’s why we’ll keep the focus on it in this article.) But if you have or buy an expensive item that fits any of the categories above, and you’re wondering whether it is covered on your homeowner’s policy, give us a call. We’re happy to find the adequate protection for your valuables.
Inherited a jewelry box? Please follow this advice
You didn't know your Aunt Martha very well but you recall as a little girl receiving pieces of jewelry each year for your birthday from her. She was always so pleasant and thoughtful that you were very sadden to hear about her passing. Now you are grown and you feel kind of bad that you haven't stayed in touch but to your surprise she left you all her favorite pieces of jewelry in an old fashioned jewelry box that Aunt Martha owned.
Because you are a novice when it comes to knowing fine pieces of jewelry you just assumed that everything in the box is just costume jewelery. years later you decide to get rid of some of the things in your garage and one of them is Aunt Martha's costume jewelry box. you take it down to the thrift show to donate the items in your garage and the nice lady behind the counter what she wants for the receipt for the donation. as she explains about the jewelry give from her Aunt Martha the lady behind the counter tells her that none of the pieces are fakes and that the jewelery is actually worth some money.
She decides to withhold the donation of the box and takes it to a jewelery store for an appraisal. to her surprise, she has over 50,000 of jewelry in a box that she was about to give away. If you inherited jewelry, do yourself a favor and be sure to get it appraised. Nine times out of ten, people assume that the jewelry they inherited is costume jewelry and of little value. And nine times out of ten, they are wrong.
Our office recommends an appraisal whenever you’re in doubt. We have even heard of a bracelet being appraised that turned out to be very rare Scottish jewelry from the mid-1800’s, valued at $4,500 – and it was a piece that was just about to be given to the Thrift Store! Don’t let that happen to you!
Not only that: The cost of gold and platinum has been on the rise over the past years, so if you have jewelry that has been appraised five or more years ago, it may have appreciated in value and might need to be appraised again.
Any individual piece of jewelry that is valued at more than $1,500 should be insured on a special jewelry endorsement that is added to your homeowner’s or renter’s policy. In insurance terms, we also call this “scheduling” your jewelry.
In order to schedule a piece of jewelry, we ask that you provide a picture of the item, and either a receipt or a professional appraisal. Depending on your insurance company, cost usually runs about $12 per $1,000 value.
Even though we are insurance agents, there is a non-insurance alternative for high valued jewelry that you may be keeping to pass on to future generations, but don’t plan to use now. Investing in a safe deposit box for items that are seldom used may be less expensive than scheduling. Just make sure to let us know if fashions change and you’ve brought some of those nostalgic pieces home to use regularly.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call 352-243-9000. We are here to help!