Those who don’t buy shiny things or flowers for Valentine’s Day may prefer other types of valuables, such as electronics, artwork, antiques or wine. All totaled the U.S. spent $18.2 billion this year on Valentine’s Day, which is down 7.6% from 2016.
Whatever the purchase, you should take steps to safeguard and insure your valuables. Homeowners insurance generally covers valuable and precious items such as jewelry, but they usually have limits, so it’s important for you to check with your insurance agent to make sure they’re covered.
While most homeowner’s insurance policies cover risks such as fire, lightning, and windstorm, they may exclude many events that create financial loss. For example, a claim that is submitted because “my three-year-old dropped my new diamond earrings into the toilet and flushed,” may not be covered under a typical policy.
To cover these kinds of incidents – or other situations that are dubbed “mysterious disappearance” – you’ll need what’s known as a valuable articles personal property endorsement on your homeowner’s contract. Typically insurance policies restrict the dollar amount of coverage for individual valuable items in the case of theft, so you want to make sure that if jewelry is ever stolen, you’re not stuck with coverage that is less than the value of the item. Speaking with your agent is the easiest way to make sure you are signing up for the coverage that you need.
With valuable items, two of the biggest snags that people run into at the time of a claim are proving that an item is missing or has been stolen, and establishing a value for the items. Some carriers may even require a police report for the missing item, even if the loss was not thought to be a theft.
Proving the value of items is very important when it’s time to file a claim. Claims are simpler and faster for you when they have photos of valuable items and collections; receipts or appraisal reports; and a written inventory.
Most additions to your homeowners insurance policy or a separate valuables policies policy can provide:
- Coverage for mysterious disappearance as well as breakage
- Blanket coverage for groups of valuables such as jewelry, crystal, or fine arts
- “Scheduled” coverage (meaning that items are individually listed) for valuables
- Coverage for valuables purchased but not yet reported to the insurance agent or carrier
Whatever was on your Valentine’s Day gift list, protect it. It’ll help you love it even more. Need to know what’s the best protection for your Valentine’s Day gift? Give us a call!
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