Do I Really Need to Insure My Jewelry?

I preach this all the time to my customers…insure your jewelry! You don’t have to insure all of it (or any of it for that matter, but just hear me out), take the time to sit down and go through your jewelry. Think about what you would do or how you would feel if a piece of jewelry were to be lost or stolen. Would you be able to replace it at today's cost or would you have to save months to years in order to replace it?

A lot of people don't even know about jewelry insurance and that's why I'm here to try to help and educate you about your options and the typical process you need to go through in order to get that peace of mind. I'm not an insurance agent so by all means, do your own research, I'm just here to offer you input and ideas. So let's just get right into a step by step process I would take to insure my jewelry.

Step 1: I would first come up with a monetary number in my head that if I lost a piece of jewelry I would be ok spending that amount of money to replace it. I.e. "This necklace is $1,000.00 and I’m willing to spend $1,000.00 out of my own pocket to replace it." If your number is higher or lower, that’s up to you, but decide which items are important to you and whether or not you’ll be willing to replace them if something were to happen.

Step 2: Gather the items that are in your “need to insure” pile and just put them aside for a bit. This is when you need to start contacting companies to insure your jewelry. You can check out your homeowners/renters insurance and can usually get a policy through them or you can check out private companies such as Jewelers Mutual or BriteCo.

My suggestion to you is to look at all your options, price it out, just as you would car insurance. Then ask yourself these questions or something similar, basically think of what you want to be covered and then see which company best suits your wants/needs. Some example questions to think about are: Do you cover loss? Do you cover theft? Do you cover repairs? Do you cover international travel? Are you going to cancel me if I make a claim? This part is really important because you want a company that is going to support you and provide you with services that you want/need.

Step 3: Some companies will require you to get an appraisal done on the item/s that you’re wanting to insure (this is usually the case). This is when you head to your local jeweler and see if they offer insurance replacement appraisal services.

Step 4: Once you find an appraiser you feel comfortable with, it's on to the final step. You will most likely need to leave your jewelry to be appraised, especially if there are many items. Once you get the pieces back, follow the steps your insurance provider has given you.

I know appraisals cost money and it’s not money you want to spend, but look at it this way… “would I rather spend $100-150 on an appraisal and then a yearly fee to insure, or $10,000.00 to replace my engagement ring?”

If you're from California and live in the Bay Area, feel free to contact me for a free estimate on appraisals and/or any questions! I'm always here to help my customers and anyone in need of a little jewelry knowledge!

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