Jewellery Insurance claim

west_ham_till_i_die

Hi,

Having read through the forum I'm hoping someone can offer some advice.
I brought my wife a Diamond Solitaire ring in Fuerteventura 2 years ago for 11,000 Euros it was marked up for 14,000 Euros.

On New Years Eve my wife lost the Diamond out of the ring.
I contacted our insurers straight away to advise of this.
I sent off the setting, certificate, and receipts for payment of the ring.

However the certificate i received from the jewellers have turns out not to be a full diamond certificate as it does not state the clarity or colour.
However the insurance did excepted the certificate as proof when we took the insurance out for the ring and insured the ring for £10,000.

The insurance company is now saying that because the certificate does not have all the info on they will not pay out the full settlement and are offering to replace the ring with an inferior diamond or a cash settlement for far less - £6,500 +VAT.

We have spoken to the jewellers in Fuerteventura who have supplied us with a email confirming the clarity and colour of the diamond, but the insurance company will not accept this as this is not on the original certificate and class this has hear say. We have also been advised by the jewellers in Fuerteventura that diamonds have increased in value by up to 30% since we purchased it.

Please Help.

dacouch

Do you have a credit card receipt etc for the purchase?

Did you have the settings checked or work done on the ring in the UK?

huckster

Just tell the Insurers that you want to make a formal complaint, so you can pass to the Financial ombudsman.

As the Insurers accepted the certificate when you registered this with them, they have stitched themselves up. They should have asked for this missing info at the time.

I think the FOS would rule in your favour, but they would probably take 6 months to do this

west_ham_till_i_die

dacouch wrote: »

Do you have a credit card receipt etc for the purchase?

Did you have the settings checked or work done on the ring in the UK?

Yes we have supplied the receipts not had any work done on the ring apart from a clean not had the setting checked as it was less then 2 years old

west_ham_till_i_die

huckster wrote: »

Just tell the Insurers that you want to make a formal complaint, so you can pass to the Financial ombudsman.

As the Insurers accepted the certificate when you registered this with them, they have stitched themselves up. They should have asked for this missing info at the time.

I think the FOS would rule in your favour, but they would probably take 6 months to do this

We have made a complaint but have been told they now have 8 weeks before it can go to FSO

I have been in touch with the insurance assessor today who have basically told me unless the jewellers in Fuerteventura come up with more info that they will not replace the diamond to the same spec and will only supply me with a diamond that they consider to be the best based on the original certificate or cash at there trade price which is how they come to 6.5k +vat

dacouch

So what type of information is the loss adjuster suggesting he needs from the jeweller and is it possible to get this information?

I agree with Huckster, if you have the original purchase receipt and have added it to the insurance which they accepted then there is a good chance the Ombudsman will rule in your favour.

By any chance does the jeweller who cleaned the ring remember it and if so would they confirm roughly the clarity / quality of the ring (They often make a note of the rings specifications when they take them in for their records / their insurance).

Have a read of this from the ombudsman about cash settlements which you may find helpful http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/10/oct-repair-replace-cash.htm

Up the Hammers

huckster

Yes they can make you wait 8 weeks from the date of your original complaint. But if they are not going to change their minds, ask them for a final response letter now, as you are keen for the FOS to review asap.

This is a b*lls up by the Insurers when they accepted the certificate as proof of the value of the item.

As a back up to justify the value of the lost diamond, you could go to an independent jewellery valuer and ask for a written statement confirming what quality diamond could have been purchased at the time for the money spent. I believe diamonds are graded using the 4 C's.

dacouch

As normal us West Ham fans are not having a great time at the moment, but it seems Insurance companies are picking on us as well at the moment!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2327047

I hope I don't have a claim...

west_ham_till_i_die

dacouch wrote: »

So what type of information is the loss adjuster suggesting he needs from the jeweller and is it possible to get this information?

I agree with Huckster, if you have the original purchase receipt and have added it to the insurance which they accepted then there is a good chance the Ombudsman will rule in your favour.

By any chance does the jeweller who cleaned the ring remember it and if so would they confirm roughly the clarity / quality of the ring (They often make a note of the rings specifications when they take them in for their records / their insurance).

Have a read of this from the ombudsman about cash settlements which you may find helpful http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/10/oct-repair-replace-cash.htm

Up the Hammers

Here is the email i recevied from the jeweller in Fuerteventura

Diamond solitaire marquise shaped mounted in prong set ring in 18 kt White gold.
Details of Diamond is as follows:

Size-2.51ct
Clarity:VS1
Colour:I-J
Price:€11000

this is a copy of the email from the insurance company

I thank you for your e-mail in connection with this matter and would be grateful to learn whether your jeweller has any documentation to support the quality information provided.

You will appreciate that normally diamonds of this quality and size are covered by a diamond certificate and I would be grateful to learn if this is the case.

In the absence of a certificate I should be grateful to learn how this information was captured and whether your jeweller is able to refer us to records in this connection.

Come on you Irons lol

west_ham_till_i_die

huckster wrote: »

Yes they can make you wait 8 weeks from the date of your original complaint. But if they are not going to change their minds, ask them for a final response letter now, as you are keen for the FOS to review asap.

This is a b*lls up by the Insurers when they accepted the certificate as proof of the value of the item.

As a back up to justify the value of the lost diamond, you could go to an independent jewellery valuer and ask for a written statement confirming what quality diamond could have been purchased at the time for the money spent. I believe diamonds are graded using the 4 C's.

A final resonse letter could be my next move :T as far as going for a independent valuer might be hard to prove as it was brought outside of the uk

dacouch

Ok it looks like the LA is not happy to accept an email which is understandable in a high value claim such as this. He is asking for physical documents such as the diamond certificate and perhaps the email you received as a hard copy on the jewellers headed paper along with a company stamp if possible.

Have you asked the jeweller if they have a diamond certificate