Home insurance and your jewellery: what you need to know
January 7, 2025Forget it and you’re unlikely to be forgiven. It’s a date you’ll do well to remember – Valentine’s Day is upon us soon. It’s an occasion when you might want to express your love and affection for someone by getting them a piece of jewellery or two. You might even think of treating yourself to a new watch, ring, or other adornment.
And though it’s probably not the first thing on your mind at this time, it’s also well worth remembering the importance of home insurance and asking:
- Does my home insurance cover my jewellery?
- Is my jewellery collection valued accurately?
Let’s explore these questions in more detail …
Does my home insurance cover my jewellery?
The answer depends entirely on the home insurance policy you’ve chosen. Even if jewellery is covered under your contents insurance, there are often conditions attached to the policy that you’ll need to check.
Most policies, for instance, impose a “single item limit” as a maximum sum insured for any single item of jewellery. There is then also likely to be a “maximum claim limit” – which is the total amount that can be awarded in the settlement of any claim (effectively, a maximum sum insured for your whole collection of jewellery).
That single-item limit on any claim will also vary from one insurer to another. With some policies, for example, you might need to declare any item that is worth £2,000 or more while a different policy might set the single item limit as high as, say, £25,000.
Ensure you understand what the policy limits are per item and maximum sum insured – and please feel free to get in touch for any clarification on what your home insurance policy cover entails.
Is my jewellery collection valued accurately?
As with any insurance, the maximum sum insured is the total you could be paid in the event of a successful claim. The valuation of your jewellery collection, therefore, is especially important – especially given how much those values can change over time.
Here at Alan Blunden, for example, we’ve had clients with a watch or some other item of jewellery that they’ve owned for a long time and that was originally valued at, say, £5,000. They have been surprised (and pleased!) when a current valuation shows that the piece has increased dramatically in value.
It is one of the several reasons we have given for ensuring that your jewellery collection is regularly valued to ensure that you are properly covered.
Extra security measures for high-value collections
A final point to bear in mind is that some jewellery collections can be extremely valuable indeed. As the value of your collection increases, you are likely to find that your home insurance provider will expect an enhanced degree of security – such as intruder alarms or the installation of a safe. You may want to check your policy documents or consult us about any such requirements.
Further reading: Valentine’s Day and jewellery.