If you are like me, you find this whole Valentine’s Day thing a bit overrated. I don’t love the idea of needing a specific day to show how much we appreciate our loved ones. I certainly don’t want my sweet husband to feel pressured to live up to any social media induced expectation. And, let’s be honest, him bringing me a perfectly made cup of coffee is about as romantic an act could be when that alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m.
But, on the off chance that a piece of jewelry does head my way today, I certainly am not going to send it back! I also am going to want to protect this special item. That brings up the question, “Does my homeowners insurance cover a new piece of jewelry?”
The answer is a bit tricky. Standard home policies typically have coverage for your personal property (a.k.a. your stuff), but it is likely that there is a dollar limit set on how much it will pay for certain categories of valuable items, like jewelry. For example, your home insurance policy may have a specific jewelry coverage limit of $2,000, even though your overall personal property limit is much higher. So, if you were to lose your wedding ring and it is worth $1,000, you would be in good shape. But, if the lost ring was valued at $5,000, you would likely only receive a $2,000 claim payment to replace the ring.
The first thing you need to do when purchasing a piece of jewelry is to get it appraised. Provide a copy of the appraisal to your insurance agent and discuss scheduling the specific item of jewelry on your home insurance policy. There will be an additional cost for scheduling the item, usually around 1-2% of the item value each year. If you currently have high value items in your home and have not talked to your insurance agent to confirm coverage, there is no day like today to get that checked off your list.
