If this year’s Valentine’s gift involves precious stones, an expensive watch or other high value item you will want to talk to your agent about valued items coverage. Typically your homeowner or renter policy will provide broad coverage on all of your property but will have a limit on jewelry, silverware, furs, firearms, fine art and other items of high value. A “valued items” rider can provide the coverage you need to protect these assets from theft, accident and natural disasters.
Usually when people think about their high vale property they think diamonds, emeralds and other jewelry but a quick look around the house may reveal sets or systems whose individual components are less than $1,000 but as a set are worth much more. How about that golf bag filled with 13 custom fit Titleist clubs or your Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR with all of its lenses? What would happen to the value of your complete set of Buffalo Head nickels if one came up missing?
Other items that are typically covered by valued items insurance include:
- Stamp collections
- Silverware
- Fine art including paintings, photographs, manuscripts, sculptures, rare books, historically significant property, rugs, etc.
- Personal computers
- China and crystal
Coverage limits will vary by company but $50,000 total and $10,000 per item are fairly common. If you have items valued over $10,000 you’ll want to talk to your agent about buying a separate Valued Items policy to ensure adequate coverage for them.
Scheduling Your Valuable Items
Because you are not lumping your high end property in with the rest of your possessions, you’ll need to list or “schedule” each item and its value. Some items will require an appraisal that is no older than three years. Other items may require that you have certain security systems in place at your home. Your agent can help you complete the form.
Pictures of the items are usually not required but it’s a good idea to take them. Keep these photos, along with your copies of the appraisals in a safe place. You can scan the photos and documents and store them in the cloud so they are accessible from any device that is connected.
A convenient feature available on many policies is the automatic coverage inclusion of new high value items. For example when you buy that expensive new Valentine’s gift it is insured immediately; no need to race to your agent’s office to add it to the schedule. Typically you have 30 days to notify your agent of a new item for the list.
Valued Items insurance isn’t for everyone but if your possessions warrant it, then the coverage rounds out your overall property protection. Having the value of your high end property defined avoids any surprises that may arise should there be a loss. You are already paying for the entire value of your home, adding valued items insurance does the same for your personal property.
