Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Do Not Put Off Your Insuring Engagement Ring

An engagement ring is undoubtedly an expensive piece of jewelry, and you should treat it as such by insuring it properly. Think your homeowner’s insurance will cover it? Think again. (You do have homeowner’s insurance, right?)

“While homeowner’s insurance covers a lot of things, it doesn’t provide adequate coverage for jewelry,” says Kevin Craiglow, a spokesperson for Nationwide Insurance, who explains that most insurance policies cover all jewelry worth up to $1,000. Unless you’ve got a teeny tiny rock on your left hand, you’re going to need extra coverage.

Craiglow recommends getting a separate jewelry policy, which some companies call an endorsement and others call an insurance rider. Both provide additional coverage for your engagement ring.

Before you can get an endorsement or a rider, you need to know exactly how much your ring is worth so should it be lost or damaged, the insurance company will know its replacement value.“Most reputable jewelers offer appraisals for a small fee,” says Craiglow. In many cases, the jeweler who originally sold your fiancĂ© the ring will have offered to appraise it before it left the shop. In addition to providing a “current and accurate appraisal of the engagement ring,” says Craiglow, insurance companies will also want a description of the ring—carat weight, metal used, and so on—and a photo of it for their files.

Riders or endorsements add only a nominal amount to a current insurance policy and are well worth the expense because they offer both protection and peace of mind.

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