Everything You Need to Know About Jewelry Insurance

When you’ve invested in a beautiful piece of jewelry, it only makes sense to want to protect your investment. You store it away carefully, and keep it clean and protected as you go about daily life.

But what about insurance? Many people mistakenly believe that standard insurance — homeowners or renters insurance — will cover any issues with your jewelry. Typically, under those policies, your insurance provider will only cover a small portion of the cost of replacement, and they may not cover anything if the jewelry is lost or damaged outside of the home.

Specialized jewelry insurance is a great way to protect your investment and your peace of mind, whether you’re at home or traveling. Let’s dive into the most common questions about jewelry insurance.

stack of rings

Will My Existing Insurance Policy Cover My Jewelry?

We’re strong advocates for the importance of specialized jewelry insurance. Jewelry is incredibly valuable to people, not just because of its monetary value but also for sentimental and personal reasons — and this is worth protecting.

And it’s not just engagement rings that should be protected. Every type of jewelry — women’s jewelry, men’s jewelry, rings, necklaces, etc. — is worth appraising and insuring.

Let’s go over the basics of insurance coverage as it pertains to jewelry and assess different policy types.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Jewelry?

Most homeowners insurance policies will cover jewelry, but not necessarily in the way that you think. First, homeowners policies will generally only cover the loss of jewelry under specific circumstances, like if it’s lost in a fire. Even if your policy covers theft, there can be limits to the amount of coverage, usually a fixed amount that’s well below the actual value of the piece.

One of the biggest risks of relying on homeowners insurance to protect your jewelry is that there’s a high probability that something could happen to your jewelry while you are not at home. In some instances, homeowners insurance will provide “off-premises” coverage, which allows for the coverage of stolen property even if you’re not at home. But this has many coverage limitations — it’s typically only a small, fixed amount for all jewelry lost, unless each item is scheduled — and may not cover the total value of your jewelry. Scheduling your jewelry coverage within your homeowners insurance policy simply means itemizing your jewelry to make sure that each specific item is covered. This is a popular alternative to a stand-alone jewelry insurance policy, but it’s worth noting that even scheduled jewelry coverage may not be sufficient as the insurance provider may push back on coverage if the item was not stolen out of the home insured.

At a broader level, most homeowners insurance policies don’t provide enough coverage for the cumulative value of your pieces, so even if your jewelry collection was covered, it’s unlikely that you’ll receive payment from insurance that equals the value of the jewelry lost.

Does Renters Insurance Cover Jewelry?

Renters insurance, like homeowners insurance, may also cover jewelry, but rarely is it sufficient coverage. Similar to a home insurance policy, renters insurance will cover the loss of your jewelry under certain circumstances and up to a certain limit. In most cases, the covered amount is usually much less than the value of the item.

Does Travel Insurance Cover Jewelry?

We’ve already established that homeowners and renters insurance on their own won’t sufficiently cover the loss of jewelry. But what if you’re traveling and you’ve gotten travel insurance to protect your items in case of loss or damage — will that be covered?

Unfortunately, though travel insurance can typically cover lost items (like jewelry), there are frequently per-item limitations. So, even if a lost engagement ring is worth $5,000, if your policy caps out at $500 per item, the insurance payout won’t come close to the total value of the jewelry you’ve lost.

What Does Jewelry Insurance Cover?

By now you understand the importance of specialized insurance for your jewelry, in addition to homeowners, renters, or travel insurance. Like any other type of insurance, there will be variations in coverage from policy to policy, so it’s important to shop around. As a jeweler, our recommendation is to find a company that specializes in jewelry insurance instead of lumping it in with your other policies.

Will Jewelry Insurance Cover the Value of My Jewelry?

The best part about selecting a separate jewelry insurance policy is that the policy will cover the appraised value of your jewelry. Many jewelry policies will require an appraisal of items over a specific dollar amount in order to verify the value of what is insured.

Will Jewelry Insurance Cover Theft and Loss?

Yes, jewelry insurance policies cover the theft and loss of jewelry whether you are at home or away from your residence — and this is one of the biggest benefits of having a separate jewelry policy that covers each individual piece. Every policy has limitations. For example, your jewelry might not be covered in the case of a nuclear event or if your jewelry is confiscated by law enforcement, but those are rare and unlikely circumstances.

Does Jewelry Insurance Cover Damages?

Most jewelry insurance policies cover damages, like if a stone falls out of your engagement ring or if part of the setting is damaged. If one of your jewelry items is accidentally damaged, the policy should cover the repair or the cost of replacing the item. Of course, if you intentionally damage your jewelry, that’s not covered. (But we certainly hope you wouldn’t do that!)

Jewelry appraisal

Jewelry Appraisal Services at JPratt Designs

We love jewelry at JPratt Designs — and we care about protecting it. We are also able to appraise jewelry to help you assess the value of individual items as you prepare to have them insured. Our reports are accepted by multiple jewelry insurers, so you can feel confident that you have an accurate and fair jewelry appraisal to take to your insurance company.

Jewelry Insurance Help

If you’re uncertain about the best ways to protect your jewelry, we can help. We have more than 30 years of experience in the jewelry industry and can provide you with the best information about jewelry insurance. We are also happy to refer you to Jewelers Mutual, one of our partners, for your jewelry insurance needs. (Click the link above and input our jeweler code, 4401, when prompted.)