Did you get an expensive gift for Christmas or your Birthday? Are you buying an engagement ring for Valentines Day? Jewelry, paintings, sculptures, rare collectibles, and even top tier wines, can all fetch high prices. Your valuables are important to you—and insuring them is equally important to prevent serious loss in the event of damage or theft. Learn more about how you can protect the finer things in life with additional coverage.
The Basics
Standard homeowners, condominium or renters insurance policies include a limited amount of coverage for jewelry and other valuable items. However, many policies limit the dollar amount of coverage for the theft or loss due to a covered peril of such items. To properly protect certain types of valuables, additional coverage is available through a policy endorsement or floater.
Endorsements
Endorsements are additions to your homeowners, condominium or renters insurance policy that change or add to the policy’s provisions. The endorsement can cover property otherwise excluded from a basic homeowners insurance policy, extend the number of perils included, or increase the amount paid for a covered loss. The items of value are “scheduled” on a list that includes a brief description and the item’s dollar value.
To determine each item’s value, an appraisal or sales receipt is typically required. This will help ensure that, in the event of a covered loss, the amount of insurance is enough to cover the repair, replacement or cash payment of the item. Items scheduled are typically not subject to the policy deductible.
Floaters
A separate personal articles floater policy may be used to schedule your valuable property that is subject to special limits under basic homeowners coverage. Once you have an
endorsement or floater, it is important to periodically review your policy’s coverage limits to minimize the likelihood of being under insured due to outdated appraisals and inadequate limits of insurance.
The Cost of Coverage
The cost of coverage varies upon the item, but typically the fee is nominal. Our team of professionals can provide you with more information about coverage and an estimate for the cost of insuring an item.