Jewellery Insurance

Emma Bartz
If you received or bought jewellery as a gift this holiday season, or will be at Valentine’s Day, you should consider how it will be covered by your property insurance policy.
In the case of a theft or mysterious disappearance of one item or even the whole jewellery box or collection, your tenant, condo, or home insurance policy will have a maximum amount of coverage for the claim called a Special Limit.
The Special Limit could be less than what you need to replace what has been lost and to avoid a situation where you would be underinsured it is important to know your coverage options.
Most companies have options to either apply a blanket increase to your policy’s Special Limits, increasing them to an amount that will better capture the value of your jewellery collection; or offer a Jewellery Floater where you can specifically itemize your most valuable pieces and their values outside of that Special Limit.
Next Steps:
1. Inventory what you have:
a. Photograph the item(s)
b. research their replacement cost plus HST | send this information to your broker to keep in your file or email it to yourself so you can easily retrieve it if you need it in a claim.
c. Set yourself periodic reminders to revisit these values to make sure you keep up with the fluctuating value of the stones and metals;
2. Contact your broker to find out what your existing policy includes;
3. Confirm the amount of your deductible so that you know what portion of the value you will be self-insuring;
4. Assess if you need to increase coverage or separate out any items from the collection on a floater or a policy of their own. Depending on the value, often proper appraisals are required.
So often, these items are not only valuable but sentimental, and to lose them without the coverage to replace them only adds to the heartbreak. Luckily, getting covered correctly is simple and we will be with you every step of the way.
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