Standalone Jewellery Insurance Pays Over and Again
Saving money by insuring your jewellery separately, in addition to your home contents insurance, may sound counter-intuitive; yet there are a number of ways in which this does in fact work out. Not to mention, by doing so you’ll also probably receive a higher standard of cover, avoiding many of the pitfalls and scare stories that relying solely on general contents insurance can present.
Are you fully covered?
Many standard home contents policies set a single item claim limit of around £1,000 to £2,000. Items (such as pieces of jewellery) that exceed this value will not be covered unless they are specified on the schedule of insurance. However many insurers will not insure valuable items such as jewellery once they reach a certain threshold, leaving the customer with the option of either looking for a different insurer or taking out a more specialist policy.
It’s important to make sure that you are not left short of cover (think of how much your engagement ring or family heirlooms might be worth). Are your valuations up-to-date?
For items that are taken out of the home, you should consider ‘all-risks’ insurance, which can be provided as an optional ‘add on’, however this carries a higher premium to account for increased risk to items used away from home.
Save money, get protected
By insuring more valuable items separately, policyholders are often able to take advantage of the most price competitive home insurance quotes, which offer excellent rates for general home contents, but poor rates for ‘all risks’ cover. It also helps you to protect your no claims bonus in the event of an item being stolen, lost or damaged.
Not to mention, standalone insurance policies also often provide a far higher standard of cover, with fewer warranties or strict terms and conditions, such as stipulating that the jewellery must be worn at all times or kept in safe when not on your person.
Cautionary tales
As alluded to, there are indeed plenty of cases of people getting caught out by strict policy wording, such as this victim of a burglary who had their £30,000 insurance claim rejected due to the underestimated value of their jewellery.
At Assetsure, we do not insist on up-to-date valuations in order for your claim to remain valid (although we do recommend them). Items can either be insured on an individual basis, or as part of a whole collection; and, for each policy we issue, we will provide you with a simple, easy-to-understand schedule clearly listing every item that the policy covers. For lower value items we also offer the option of insurance on an ‘unspecified basis’.
Our policies cover worldwide travel for up to 60 days (though this period can often be extended where desired); theft or accidental loss or damage; and are excess free.
