With Christmas passing and Valentine’s Day on the way, now seems like a great time to think about insuring your newly acquired or long-time treasured valuables. A lot of people don’t realize that most Homeowners, Condo and Renters policies may have limited coverage under their policy for these valuable items. These items include, but aren’t limited to, jewelry, silverware, china, fine art, antiques, electronics, golf equipment, stamp and coin collections, etc.
In order to insure these items to their full value, the items should be scheduled individually under a Homeowners, Condo, or Renters policy (commonly called a floater policy). Another option is to purchase a separate policy called a Scheduled Personal Property policy. The most common item that we see scheduled this time of year is an engagement ring. Most companies require an official appraisal of the item in order to schedule it. This ensures that it is insured at its fullest value. For an engagement ring, this is easily obtained from the jewelry store that you purchase the ring from.
You also need to make sure that you insure your valuables in a timely fashion- if you receive something as a gift, put this at the top of your to-do list! It is also recommended to keep photos and receipt of the item in a safe place. It is also important to remember that the value of items can change over time, due to the rising price of silver and gold. Remember to have an updated appraisal done every 2-3 years and to contact your agent to update the value on your policy.
