Jewellery Valuations for Insurance.
I read somewhere recently that millions of jewellery owners could be at risk of under insurance because they have undervalued their possessions or simply have not acquired up to date valuations. This may not be deliberate, in fact I do not believe in the vast majority of cases it is, but whatever the explanation, it may cause a problem if you have your jewellery insured by a standard home insurance policy under a section of cover that has an “average clause”. Average clauses allow the insurer to make deductions from a claim in the event of under insurance.
The Association of British Insurers recommends that you keep your valuations up to date to avoid this situation and to make sure that your sums insured acutely reflect the true value of your contents The main problem stems from the fact that precious metal prices have sky rocketed in recent years. Although the price of gold has cooled in recent months at various points it has been double the price of its raw cost five years ago. It’s similar story for silver & platinum, other precious metals used in the manufacture of jewellery. Diamonds have also enjoyed a good run, demand for diamonds remains high with the largest increases being recorded for higher cart weight stones
We are finding that owners who are taking their jewellery to be valued are often astounded and how much they are being quoted for replacement, particularly if their items include large or usually stones. The problem for many owners is that professional valuations are not cheap and of course there is the hassle factor of getting around to having it done, a high proportion of owners simply choose to stay with existing values and sums insured not realising they could be in line for problems in the event of a claim.
At Assetsure, our Jewellery Insurance policy does
not have an average clause, we simply state that the maximum we will
ever pay is the sum insured listed on the schedule and chosen by the
policyholder.
We still think the best course of action is to have your jewellery
re-valued on a regular basis; a reputable jeweller will be able to
provide you with a scale of charges upfront preferably on a per item
basis not based on the new value provided. If you are interested in
receiving a quote for your jewellery, please click here
