Wrapping Up Jewelry With More Than Bows -- Why You May Need Special Insurance This Holiday Season

WILMINGTON, MA--(Marketwire - December 3, 2008) - If you're giving or receiving a valuable piece of jewelry this holiday season, you might want to wrap it up with more than ribbons and bows. You may need to alter your insurance package to properly cover your new valuable possessions.

"Most people don't realize that their homeowners or renter's insurance policy provides limited coverage for jewelry," says Michael S. Chapman, chief sales officer with HUB International New England, a regional insurance agency headquartered in Wilmington, Mass.

Homeowners policies typically pay up to $1,000 to $2,000 for jewelry loss, once you've met your deductible.

Standard policies cover losses caused by theft, fire and storms. So, if your five year old accidentally flushes your engagement ring down the toilet, you're out of luck. Or if you lose one of your diamond earrings while out to dinner, most standard insurance policies won't respond.

The solution is to buy a jewelry "floater" -- an add-on to your policy. The floater provides "all risk" protection for each item of jewelry you list. Besides fire and theft, it typically covers losing the piece by accident, damage from dropping the item and almost any cause you can think of, anywhere in the world.

And you can insure your items for their full value without a deductible. There are a number of jewelry coverage options available: itemized coverage enables you to list a value and description of each item; blanket coverage provides an aggregate limit of coverage for multiple items without each item having to be listed. There is a sub-limit per each item of jewelry coverage with the blanket coverage option.

How do you know if you need jewelry insurance?

"Just call or email your agent and tell him or her about the jewelry you own or will be getting over the holidays," Chapman says. "Your agent can tell you if extra insurance is needed and how much it costs."

Premiums vary depending on the value of your jewelry and where you live. Unless your jewelry is extraordinarily valuable, the extra cost is usually small. A number of insurance companies offer significant premium discounts for home safes or if jewelry items are kept in bank safety deposit boxes.

The jewelry floater may have no deductible or a smaller deductible than your homeowners or renter's policy. A deductible, if available, can reduce your premium.

You may be required to have a written appraisal. If it's a new item, the jeweler can provide the appraisal. For existing jewelry, you may need to get an appraisal for a fee.

"We recommend to our clients that they get their jewelry reappraised every five years or so to ensure that their insured values are current in the event of a claim," Chapman says.

Look for a policy that provides full replacement cost and also covers repairs to damaged jewelry, Chapman advises. Some policies require that you replace the item at jewelry stores they specify; others will give you cash to spend as you wish.

About HUB International New England

HUB International New England, named one of the largest brokers in the region, has locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The operations that make up HUB New England are long standing brokerages with years of experience in arranging property and casualty, personal insurance and employee benefits programs for a wide variety of businesses and individuals. As a full-service brokerage, HUB New England offers clients the many advantages of working with a large, international company with a strong sense of local service and expertise.

On the Web: www.hubinternational.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Henry Stimpson Stimpson Communications 508-647-0705 Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com