Protection for your most prized possessions
Nothing says “I love you” like a sparkling diamond necklace or a designer watch. In the event of a loss, nothing causes more heartache than learning that you’re underinsured. Learn more about how you can protect the finer things in life with additional coverage options.
Why do I need to insure my valuables?
It’s true that standard homeowners, condominium and renters insurance policies include a limited amount of coverage for jewelry and other valuable items. However, many policies limit the dollar amount of coverage for the theft or loss, due to a covered peril of such items.
To properly insure the value of a portrait or an heirloom stamp collection, consider purchasing additional coverage through a policy endorsement or floater. Our coverage options are both affordable and easy to arrange.
Coverage options
Additional coverage is available through a policy endorsement or floater.
Endorsements
Endorsements are additions to your homeowners, condominium or renters insurance policy, which change or add to the policy’s provisions. The items of value are “scheduled” on a list that includes a brief description and the item’s dollar value.
For all items, an appraisal or sales receipt is typically required. This will help ensure that, in the event of a covered loss, the amount of insurance is enough to cover the repair, replacement or cash payment of the item.
The endorsement can cover property otherwise excluded from a basic homeowners insurance policy, extend the number of perils insured against, or increase the amount paid for a covered loss. Items scheduled are typically not subject to the policy deductible.
Floaters
A separate personal articles floater may be used to schedule your valuable property that’s subject to special limits under basic homeowners coverage.
If you have an existing endorsement or floater, it’s important to periodically review your policy’s coverage limits to minimize the likelihood of underinsurance arising from outdated appraisals and inadequate limits of insurance.
Cost of coverage
The cost of coverage varies upon the item, but typically the fee is nominal. Our personal lines team of professionals would be happy to provide you with more information about coverage and an estimate for the cost of scheduling an item.
Before a thief steals your antique coin collection or your diamond ring accidentally gets washed down the drain, contact us to learn more about the affordable ways we can help you protect the things you value most.
Tips to protect your valuables
Once you complete your checklist, there are a number of simple no-cost or low-cost steps you can take to protect your valuables:
- Create a photographic record or inventory of your valuables and store it in a safe deposit box or other off-site location. Consider keeping a copy on a CD or flash drive in your disaster kit, so that you can provide it to your insurance company following a loss; this will allow you to start the insurance/recovery process more quickly.
- Scan important records such as vital records, medical records and financial documents, and save the files on disks or flash drives. You may also want to password-protect the data you have stored in case of loss or theft. Store the backup records in a safe deposit box or other off-site location.
- If you have too many records or no way to scan/copy them, store them in a flood/fireproof home safe or a safe deposit box. Also, consider giving backup copies of important documentation to family members to store for you.
- If you have valuable items stored in a basement, move them to a higher location to avoid water damage.
- Include any readily accessible records, such as medical records and medical contact information, in your disaster kit.
- In some cases, you may be able to protect valuables in waterproof containers available in sporting goods or hardware stores. For smaller items, a flood/fireproof home safe may provide temporary protection.
- Take precautions to protect yourself from identity theft when you create backup systems to store critical information.
