Your home or condo insurance policy will most likely cover some of your jewellery, but a lot of people are unaware that there are special limits that will limit the amount paid by the insurance company if you had a claim. Depending on the insurance company, sometimes those limits are as low as $3,000 for all your jewellery combined. Some policies will even restrict how much you can claim for one piece of jewellery even if it is valued under the combined limit.
This might not be a big deal to some people who only own a few jewellery items, but some people might own jewellery that is worth more than that limit on its own. It is not uncommon for an engagement ring to be worth more than that $3,000 limit, so it can be crucial to make sure you have the right coverage for your valuables.
In this article we will point out the reasons why you should consider a Personal Articles Endorsement on your home insurance policy, how this endorsement can help you, and things to be aware of when making this decision.
Some insurance companies may not offer the personal articles endorsement, but they may offer a jewellery floater or rider. In the insurance world the words rider, floater, and endorsement tend to be interchangeable, so don’t let this confuse you when you are talking to your broker. This floater will be similar to the personal articles endorsement and often borrows their legal wordings heavily from the personal articles endorsement.
As always, double check everything with your broker as they know your insurance company’s rules and have extensive knowledge that you can take advantage of for your own insurance needs. Every insurance company has different rules, so it is important that you are fully informed about your own insurance options from your broker.
Table of Contents
What is a Personal Articles Endorsement?
A personal articles endorsement is extra coverage that you can append to your home insurance policy that provides coverage for certain types of personal property while located anywhere in the world. For the topic of this article, we will focus solely on the jewellery portion of this endorsement.
What are the Benefits of the Endorsement?
The personal articles endorsement increases insurance limits and broaden coverages for your jewellery items.
No Deductibles
One of the most desired benefits of the personal articles endorsement is the reduction or elimination of the deductible.
Coverages Broadened
The “All Risks” habitational coverage is usually broadened to include:
- Chipping, marring, scratching, or breakage.
- Accidental loss or damage while actually being worked upon.
- Snow slide, earthquake, landslide or any other earth movement.
- Theft by a tenant, members of a tenant’s household or employees of the tenant.
- Flood, sewer back-up, seepage or other water.
- Mysterious disappearance (including stones which fall out of their settings).
- This coverage is sometimes provided by your comprehensive homeowners policy, but if it is not, the endorsement will provide this coverage.
Valued Coverage
Some insurance companies might require that the jewellery be appraised or for the insured (you) and the insurance company to have an agreed upon value for each piece of jewellery. There are some companies that allow a “blanket” coverage amount for all jewellery pieces as well. Call your broker to see what is available to you.
Newly Acquired Jewellery
In many cases when you have each piece of jewellery scheduled (listed) on your policy, there is also coverage for newly acquired jewellery. The common rules are that the new pieces of jewellery are automatically covered for 30 days and up to $5,000 until they are scheduled on the policy.
Word of Caution
This article touches on a lot of complicated subjects within insurance. It is always suggested that you contact your broker to make sure that they contact your insurance company to ensure that this endorsement is exactly what you need. If you do not have a policy or a broker yet, we would love to make sure you and your belongings are properly insured. Contact us today to learn more about how we can protect the things you love.