Insuring Valuables – Valuable Advice

The start of a new year is always a good time to review your insurance coverages, and it’s an especially opportune moment to look over the coverage for your valuable personal items. The holidays often bring new jewelry (lucky you!) or other higher-end gifts, and it’s important to understand what’s typically covered – and not covered – by standard policies.

A typical homeowners, condominium or renters policy will include a limited amount of coverage for the loss of jewelry and other valuables due to theft or a covered peril. But that limit might not be adequate to replace certain items, especially some antique, heirloom or other one-of-a-kind creations.

There are a couple of options for extending coverage to these treasures, but Step One in either case is to document the item and its value. Make sure you have photos that clearly show the item, and store those photos in the cloud in case of a fire or other damage to your home.

In the case of jewelry or antiques a current appraisal is vital also, especially in these inflationary times. Having an objective assessment of the item’s value will prevent over-insuring or under-insuring it. For items such as electronics that are not appropriate for appraisal, have a sales receipt stored digitally where you can easily find it.

That done, there are typically two ways to handle additional coverage: endorsements and floaters. An endorsement is an addition to your current policy that changes the provisions in some way. It might specifically include a given item, include a certain peril that the policy otherwise excludes, or raise coverage limits for certain items.

A floater is actually a separate policy written to cover a specific item or items. Your risk advisor can guide you on whether an endorsement or a floater is the better option in your situation.

The good news is that even for the highest-end items, coverage in the form of an endorsement or floater is usually very affordable. So don’t put it off and face the heartbreak of losing a treasure that wasn’t adequately covered.

Questions about coverage for your valuable personal items? Contact Consolidated Insurance.