Jewellery Insurance Tips

To minimise the heartache of losing your beloved earrings or diamond ring, take a look at our jewellery insurance tips.

It was on your hand and now it’s not! Oh no, where did it go? While you’re frantically searching every inch of your house, from your washing machine to your cat’s food bowl, the question you’re asking yourself is “why didn’t I just insure the thing in the first place?”. Jewellery insurance against loss and theft is a very overlooked and highly valuable solution. By paying a small policy premium you can protect your heirlooms and the shiny possessions that cost you a fortune . We are going to share with you 5 of our top tips for insuring your jewellery to avoid you overpaying  or receiving the wrong cover.

What does Jewellery insurance cover?

Diamond jewellery insurance, as suggested in the name, is insurance for your jewellery to provide you with peace of mind. While it varies from policy to policy, jewellery insurance typically offers protection against loss, accidental damage and theft. Items are protected and the insurance company provides financial help towards the cost of replacement or repair. You will have to make a contribution towards the payment, which is known as an “excess”, however this will be much lower than the cost of paying for everything yourself.

Ask Questions

As annoying as it is to read through all of the fine print, it is definitely in your best interest to do so. While add-on jewellery policies available through your cheap home and contents insurance policy are available, they also are notorious for hidden clauses that can result in little or no payout. These clauses can often be related to how your jewellery went missing, for example, if  you were swimming at your leisure centre when your ring went missing, the insurance company may refuse to pay out. Surprisingly, there are many policies where cover is restricted to loss from the body or a secure safe. Therefore, we would highly suggest posing as many questions to your insurance provider as possible to avoid any future stress and hassle. 

Personal possessions insurance

If you are considering going through your home insurer to avoid the pain of losing your beloved jewels, look for a home insurance policy that includes personal possessions. The added peace of mind it gives when you’re out and about knowing that you’re protected against loss and theft is priceless. Note - this does not cover accidental damage for which we  recommend taking out specialist jewellery insurance.

How to get Jewellery valued for insurance

Jewellery insurance works regular jewellery valuation and cover ensures that your small investment is looked after through help to cover the cost of accidental damage, loss and theft. This is known as a jewellery appraisal which requires regular valuing through jewellery valuers to make sure that if either were to happen, you’re able to restore your jewellery or are paid out the right amount of money to replace it, according to its current market value. A point to note is that while jewellery prices are relatively stable, they can also depreciate or appreciate over time. This is mainly due to the changes in the cost of materials and the type of jewellery you are looking to insure. 

How often to value Jewellery for insurance

Unlike naturally mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are not a rarity and are mass-produced thanks to the technological processes discovered to produce real diamonds such as HP HT and the cheap materials used to create them. While savings of up to 50% is attractive by anyone’s standards, it’s well known that  lab-grown diamonds aren’t particularly great in terms of investment as their mass production and increasing supply create a continuous drop in price. This is a huge  factor to consider when purchasing a lab-created diamond as the cost of replacing a piece through insurance is also a depreciation. This isn’t so much of an issue if you intend on replacing a piece but could be a concern if you’re not. Also, a point to note is that if you are insuring a sentimental piece and hope to get any accidental damage fixed, the cost of repair could sway your insurance provider against paying out if it is higher than its market value.

To take advantage of this and avoid overpaying on your insurance policy for lab-grown diamonds, regular jewellery appraisals can come in handy. For this, we suggest taking your jewellery to be reassessed every 2 years.

Invest in good security

Where you keep your jewellery is an important risk factor for insurance companies when deciding on the premium to offer you. Investing in highly secure security solutions such as a cash safe or installing a burglar alarm can demonstrate a low risk of theft and incline your insurer to offer you a reduced premium. 

Another way in which you can keep your jewellery safe is through depositing your jewellery into a bank safe deposit box which can be accessed at any time using several levels of security, such as your bank card, pin number, fingerprint and key. These are often a good choice for storing large amounts of high-value jewellery as the cost of small storage can cost you a fortune. This also does not provide cover against loss and theft once withdrawn as well as no cover for accidental loss. 

Travelling abroad Jewellery insurance

Nothing rings  alarm bells like travelling to a foreign country with highly valuable belongings. Before you travel, make sure that your jewellery insurance offers worldwide cover.