The Boundless Benefits of Insuring Your Engagement Ring
Insuring your symbol of eternal love might seem overbearing, but the survey result of how many couples lose their rings after the marriage will definitely make you think twice about insuring your bauble. In fact, the responsibility of who should actually get the ring insured is, mixed too. If the ring is en route to proposal, i.e., held by the man, he should be insuring it. If the man has proposed already and the ring is with the women, it is the responsibility of the woman or the man to get the ring insured.
Being a precious and everlasting buy, insuring the engagement ring is the first step to being smart. Furthermore, you should be aware of the nuances of insuring an engagement ring.
What is a Ring Insurance good for?
Usually bought as an extension or add-on to the home insurance, Ring insurance is also popularly known as a Rider. The most important thing to remember is that the renters and homeowner policy valuates and insures most of the stuff in your home, except precious items, inclusive of jewelry.
There are two options to getting your engagement ring covered- Homeowner’s policy or Jewelry Insurance firms. Known as the Scheduled Property Coverage, the homeowner’s policy can cover the particulars within a house as well as the jewelry with a traditionally limited liability. When you insure your ring via the Jeweler’s Insurance, the worst case scenario of losing your engagement ring can be resolved professionally. When a ring is insured with such an authentic jewelry insurer, these companies can professionally replace the ring when in need, rather than cashing the appraised sum.
Engagement ring is the symbol of your love and as couples; you must looking out for ways to insure the most priceless item of your life in the best way. Not every insurance policy covers specific things in a ring and it is you who should decide if a particular insurance package is befitting to your lifestyle as well as fears of losing the ring.
Furthermore, depending on whether your jewelry was insured appropriately, Engagement Ring insurance aspires to provide the policyholder with the exact quality of assets that was initially registered with.
You can also request your homeowner’s insurer to cover the expense of the engagement ring when you move into a new house. However, homeowner’s insurance policies add a premium when you cover the jewelry under it. This turns toxic as the home value gets lowered when a loss occurs. Regardless of the amount you expend on the ring, ring insurance honors and preserves the actual value, in currency and sentiments for the ring.
Why should I insure my engagement ring?
For newlyweds, losing the most precious jewelry of their life can sound impossible, but statistics show that this is not the fact. Jewelers Mutual surveyed 600 married women, out of which 53% had ring insurances while half of them claimed that they had lost at least, one jewelry item in their lives, mostly the precious engagement rings. The eye-opening conclusion of the survey was that 70% had lost their jewelry and had not still hadn’t replaced the bauble.
While jewelry insurances cost 1%-2% of the originally appraised amount annually, when you compare it with the distress you will bear at the time of theft, ring insurance is surely a smart deal!
Some of the trademark benefits of insuring the engagement ring are
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Saving the best Memories
Engagement Ring is one of the most beautiful memories of most of us. In fact, to most of us, jewelries are intimate and a constant reminder of the best of our memories. From anniversary bands to promise rings or even ornate gifts, insurance helps to preserve the memories, just as it is. Perhaps you felt guilty buying at that striking platinum and diamond bracelet you gifted yourself on your promotion or birthday, but now you’re glad that you did that.
Jewelry insurance helps you preserve the jewelry, with the pristine feeling that you bought it first with. With the right insurance, you will always feel confident that your memories are safe!
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Carefree Jewelry wearing
Another real benefit of jewelry insurance is the sense of confidence it gives. Depending upon your insurance and lack of the same, you will either feel proud flaunting the jewelry, or scared to keep it even in your home locker!
Carefree jewelry wearing does not come to everyone, especially, if you have a $1,000,000 bauble on your finger. In fact, most people with expensive jewelry take safe lockers and other external safety measures to keep their treasure safe. Simply put, they lock it up! Jewelry is something that should be flaunted and taken pride into wearing. If you don’t feel so, the perfect cure to your fear is jewelry insurance!
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Saving your treasure that’s more than just an expensive bauble
Engagement ring is expensive, but also much more than a monetary investment. It is of high sentimental value that anything different is irreplaceable. In the event of ado, if you can replace your original ring with the exact replica, then there is nothing that can overwhelm your heart.
A Jeweler’s insurance lets be confident that your treasure will always be with you, whatever happens. A good insurance should answer to all mishaps that could happen and keeps your stress-free.
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Keeping your memories exactly as they are
It is silly to even think that there can be a jewelry that undergoes no natural wear and tear. The yearly cost of appropriate jewelry care can be more than a few hundred dollars at times. A standard jewelry insurer also includes the annual cost of repairs, renewing appraisals and such, under the policy.
Furthermore, having strong jewelry insurance also keeps your baubles as well as its documents organized and in check, whenever you need.
Regardless of whether the ring is an heirloom or you sat down for days with the goldsmith, nothing can match up to the price of your ring. If your ring is uninsured and perhaps under the property insurance coverage, the maximum it can get is $1000- $2000, even if it is priced at $60,000!
How much does it cost to insure an engagement ring?
Getting your engagement ring insured is easy.
The first step is to determine the right value of your jewelry with the help of a graduate gemologist or GG. When choosing a GG, make the sure the person has a professional approach to the certification. Often, some GGs inflate the value of the item, to appease the customer. Little do they know what, dependent on the appraisal, the insurance percentile on the jewelry also increases regardless of the original amount.
The next step is to check if your next and current home has an insurance policy that can include the jewelry. If your property is previously insured, it is easy to avail an extended policy from the insurer for your appraised item at its 100% price.
The annual cost of insuring your precious engagement ring is at $1-$2 per $100, depending on the insurer. Simply put, provided that the total price of your ring is $10,000, your annual insurance cost will be $100- $200 per session. Another important thing that changes the total insurance cost of an item is if you’re situated in a place that has high risk towards theft.
When you dissect the long-term benefits of insuring the ring, the total cost of repair and security is lowered. The best way to decrease your total expenditure is by doing a DIY Engagement Ring Insurance. This includes the extra care towards jewelry care when wearing as well as in storage. The easiest way to do this is to buy a strong and biometric safe or vault. By keeping the appraisals and billing as well as repair documents of the jewelry in the safe, you will have a convenient time of sorting your jewelry as well as keeping safe.
It is not the cost of insurance that you should worry about, but the policy itself as nothing is as valuable as your precious trinkets.
What should I look for in the policy’s small prints?
For low priced rings priced $1000-$2000, the house owner’s insurance policy suffices. However, if your ornament is worth more, then availing an exclusive jeweler’s insurance is necessary for you. Unlike picking out the jewelry itself, ring insurance should be concluded only post thorough analysis.
Insuring your ring is not just keeping your monetary investments safe, but also the sentimental value intact and unstressed throughout its wear. Moreover, you will be carefree only when the insurance literally emphasizes the solutions for your fears.
The most important questions to ask your insurer or check in the small prints of the policy are
- Are accidents included in the insurance? What are the exceptions to these?
- Are stolen incidents included in the insurance? If so, what do you have to use to prove that the ring is stolen?
- Is your ring insured for 100% or for a portion? What are the conditions enlisted for the same?
- What are the exceptions of the insurance policy?
- What are the conditions for engraved or customized jewelry?
- What are the conditions for vintage or heirloom jewelry?
- How many repairs or appraisals are covered under the insurance?
- What is the form of insurance provided for a lost ring? Will the insurance company replace or pay for the same? If so, will it be mailed or presented in person? What are your duties?
- How does your insurer assess your collateral? Do you need to get a second appraisal or will your first one do? Does the insurer have a personal Graduate Gemologist?
- Do you need photos as part of the necessary documents for insurance coverage?
- What is the premium of your insurance? Does it change? What is the deductible policy with respect to your premium?
- What categories of repair costs are you supposed to bear?
- Does your insurer provide upgrades or aide of insurance during shifting? If so what types of benefits are provided?
- Does the policy cover damages? If so, what type of damages is covered like when the diamond is in a fire or so?
- Is there a policy that could be availed triangularly between your jeweler, you and the insurer?
- What are the documents or formalities you need to make any claim of the insurance?
- What documents do you need to register your ring for insurance?
The finally requirement is the comparison costs of insurance deductible with respect to the coverage. Furthermore, make sure to do your own individual comparison based on conveniences and preferences specific to particular insurers.
Appraisal and re appraisal- why should I?
For those of you who do not understand appraisals, in short, appraisals are-
An appraisal is issued strictly as bonus info for ensuring the monetary worth and insurance of the gem. The Appraisal is the calculation of the price and value of your diamond. The appraisal allots a value to the diamond in question, based on the market standards at the time of request of appraisal. Read more on appraisals from DPA.
For most jewelry insurance, there are two types of ways to insure your treasure. If the jewelry is not so expensive, the bill will suffice, while you will require a gemologist certified appraisal or grading report for expensive jewelries (usually <$5000). In fact, protecting your engagement ring is impossible if you do not know the value of the same.
Imagine you lost your ring before getting an appraisal or report of it. How will you ever know what to replace the same with? The jewelry sans insurance is surely is a lost cause. Often, certain jewelers have their own GGs that provide an appraisal along with the purchase.
Before choosing a Graduate Gemologist, make sure the person has a legit degree and qualifies to GIA or any other diamond laboratories. An independent appraisal that is unbiased also lets you crosscheck the authenticity of your treasure, apart from what the seller vouches for. The hourly cost of appraisers is $100-$150/h.
In addition, getting an independent appraisal is also a way to insure your engagement ring on your own. An appraisal does not guarantee a lifetime consistency of value or insurance costs. In fact, it is necessary to seek a re-appraisal of insured jewelry every 2-3 years. An appraisal also helps you conclude the market value of your jewelry. Moreover, most jewelry prices never remain constant and most probably, the price you purchased the jewelry with isn’t the same anymore. A jewelry appraisal lets you account appropriate upgraded costs too. Additionally, if you approach the same Graduate Gemologist for all your appraisals, you will have no trouble with updating your records as well as cutting your costs as well!
If budget is your dilemma, then log onto the Jeweler’s Mutual wesbite and use the quote calculator based on your location and nature of wear in lesser than 10 minutes to determine a rough estimate of the ring insurance. When considering the worst cons that could happen due to lack of insurance, it is actually cheaper to get ring insurance than stress mourning over your loss afterwards.
Look at it or lock it? How to make sure it is safe?
Given that engagement ring is something that is worn always and treasured the most in any jewelry box, have you considered what actually is jewelry care? Should you lock it away in the safest vault, miles away from your home or seize every moment wearing it?
The best way to determine how badly you need your jewelry insured is easy if you imagine the below-
I just realized that I do not have my engagement ring now. Did I lose it in the airport? Or the taxi? What do I do? How do I feel?
- Can I replace the jewelry?
- Do I have the money to replace the jewelry?
- How long will it take me to replace the jewelry?
- Will I be scared to wear any jewelry that is uninsured?
Answer the above and by the end of it, you will know how inevitable it is to insure your precious ring. Today, exclusive insurance package for wedding jewelry, diamond and engagement rings exist owing to the demand that people have lost their jewelry in the past many times already!
The ultimate way to make sure that your precious jewelry is actually safe is by insuring it. Without the same, there is no way you can actually pull of wearing a $54,000 diamond ring knowing that you can lose it anytime. Make sure to check the area that you’re in, for the crime rates. If jewelry thefts are recorded high in your area, you might have to pay more to insure the ring.
Jewelries like Blue Nile, has its own GG and offers extensive range of ring insurances. The most important thing to remember when insuring your engagement ring is to know every aspect of the policy that you are signing your trust and precious treasure for!