Valentine’s Day brings with it many different styles and signs of affection. What’s your preferred method?
Breakfast in bed?
A bouquet of roses?
A talking teddy bear and a box of chocolates?
Or, is it jewelry?
While you are asking yourself, “Chris, what does this have to do with my insurance?” I want you to know that a piece of jewelry may be something you want to insure (hint hint). Now, you may be thinking that since personal property is covered under your homeowner’s policy you would be all set - but not everyone is aware that certain types of property (like jewelry) have something known as sub limits. What this means is that some companies may only cover $2,500 worth of jewelry REGARDLESS of the actual value of the jewelry.
Companies have solved this problem by offering their policy holders the ability to schedule their personal belongings.
By scheduling a piece of property on your policy you are the one determining the amount of insurance for that object. This isn’t just limited to jewelry but also to items such as antiques, furs, firearms, paintings, and silverware.
In addition, scheduling personal property comes with some distinct advantages:
- Covers more causes of loss - Your scheduled belongings will be covered for more perils than a standard homeowners policy, such as “mysterious disappearance” (which is just a fancy insurance term for when you lose something)
- No deductible – When a claim is submitted to your insurance company for a scheduled item it’s not subject to a deductible.
Let’s look at an example:
You and your family are spending a relaxing day at the beach. Upon coming home your wife realizes that her ring is missing. After scrambling through the beach bags and the car with no luck, you both have determined that it must have fallen off while swimming. You call your insurance agent in a panic, and he tells you not to worry because it has been scheduled on the policy since the day you picked it up at the jeweler. He advises you that if you hadn’t scheduled the ring, you wouldn’t have had any coverage. This is because losing the item would not have been a covered peril. However, since the ring was scheduled you have coverage up to the appraised amount and you my friend are a hero. Phew.
If you think you may have some items that should be scheduled onto your policy give us a buzz. We can take a look at adding them for you.
Purchasing the wrong insurance can affect every day for the rest of your life. Remember that the next time they tell you to save 15% in fifteen minutes.