Insuring Valuables

Nothing says “I love you” like a sparkling diamond necklace or a designer watch. However, in the event of a loss, nothing causes more heartache than learning that you’re underinsured. While insurance can’t ease the actual heartache from the loss a valuable item there are affordable additional coverage options to help ease the financial burden.

The Basics

Standard homeowners, condominium, or renters insurance policies include a limited amount of coverage for jewelry and other valuable items. However, many policies limit the dollar amount of coverage for the theft or loss due to a covered peril of such items. To properly protect certain types of valuables, additional coverage is available through a policy endorsement or floater.

Endorsements

Endorsements are additions to your homeowners, condominium, or renters insurance policies that change or add to the policy’s provisions. The endorsement can cover property otherwise excluded from a basic homeowners insurance policy, extend the number of perils included, or increase the amount paid for a covered loss. The items of value are “scheduled” on a list that includes a brief description and the item’s dollar value.

An appraisal or sales receipt is typically required to determine each item’s value. This will help ensure that, in the event of a covered loss, the amount of insurance is enough to cover the repair, replacement or cash payment of the item. Items scheduled are typically not subject to the policy deductible.

Floaters

A separate personal articles floater policy may be used to schedule your valuable property that is subject to special limits under basic homeowners coverage.

Once you have an endorsement or floater, it is important to periodically review your policy’s coverage limits to minimize the likelihood of being underinsured due to outdated appraisals and inadequate limits of insurance.

The Cost of Coverage

The cost of coverage varies depending on the item, but typically the fee is nominal. Our personal lines team of professionals can provide you with more information about coverage and an estimate for the cost of scheduling an item.