Most homeowners and renter's insurance include jewelry as personal property, but that coverage may not be enough to cover your purchase.
Many policies set a limit and might not protect against all losses. Given the sentimental value of some heirlooms, think about coverage for all situations.
- Your standard policy might only cover a fraction of what your jewelry is worth.
- Most policies will protect against theft, but you may need additional coverage to protect your jewelry against damage or loss.
- Though a basic homeowners policy provides some jewelry coverage, if an individual has a sizable and valuable jewelry collection they should add a jewelry floater on top of their basic policy. The jewelry floater will provide a higher dollar amount of coverage for jewelry than a basic homeowner’s insurance policy does.
- Some jewelry floaters also offer coverage against more perils than homeowners insurance does. For example, they might cover accidental loss, while a basic homeowners policy would not. Since not everyone owns expensive jewelry that they want to insure, a basic homeowners policy provides limited coverage for jewelry.
- The minimal jewelry coverage provides homeowners with some jewelry insurance, but homeowners do not pay for unnecessary jewelry coverage. For example, a basic policy might provide $1,000 or $1,500 in jewelry coverage. So if a homeowner purchases a $5,000 engagement or wedding ring, they might buy a jewelry floater to ensure that they have protect the ring’s full value.
- Depending on how much the premium for the jewelry floater is, the individual might decide to self-insure, meaning that they’ll plan to pay for a new ring out of pocket if the existing one is stolen during a burglary, falls off in the ocean during the couple’s honeymoon or is otherwise damaged.
- It’s also possible to purchase floaters for other high-value possessions, such as baseball card collections, antique silverware sets, fine art paintings, computers and fur coats.
- Renters insurance also insures personal possessions such as jewelry; you don’t necessarily need to be a homeowner to insure these items. You can also purchase a jewelry floater for a renters insurance policy.