Best way to insure a high value engagment ring

sr99

I have some questions about insuring a high value engagement ring.

I had a look in the archives and found this thread that helped quite a bit:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2832/jewellery-insurance-discussion-area

However, most of the advice is now quite old and my situation is a bit different to those that are in the thread so I thought I'd start again.

First a bit about my situation:
I have inherited the ring from my mum. We are currently getting it re-valued, but 8 years ago it was valued at £10,000 and my jeweller has suggested that this may have increased by as much as 50%.

We live in rented accommodation. We are just moving into a new flat and so do not have any house insurance as yet. Apart from this item our insurance needs are fairly minimal (£20,000 contents and £3000 high risk) and we would be able to find an annual premium for £100-150.

Queries:
> Could anyone advise me of any insurance companies who are likely to offer additional cover for a ring of this value? There were a few suggestions in the previous thread, but it seemed that the consensus was that you would need to take out buildings insurance as well, which we would obviously not need.

> I suspect that the insurance company may insist on us fitting a safe (when my mum had it insured it was only covered on her finger or in a safe). Mattymoo mentioned requiring ABIS safes for insurers in the other thread. I’m wondering how this would work with a rented property. If one insurance company stipulates a safe will this be the requirement across the board?

> Would I be better off getting cheaper house insurance and then a separate policy for the ring? Again any suggested companies would be much appreciated. One of the previous posts talked about Hiscox insurance. I had a quick look online but I could only include it within a house contents policy, and because they assume that you are wealthy in order to own such items, they bumped up our contents value and quoted me £1000 annual fee.

We are not going to get the ring and valuation back for a couple of weeks, but as we will be moving into our flat and take out contents insurance before this, we need to consider if we can add the ring and how much it is likely to cost.

I'm grateful for any information or suggestions anyone can provide

bouncydog1

I would suggest that you may be best looking for an all risks policy to just insure the ring. Suggest you could google high net worth insurance policies and contact one of the brokers that shows up. There are probably going to be specific security requirements that you will have to adhere to if you want the insurance - unfortunately if you want the cover you have to take the steps insurers want to mitigate the chance of loss. You will then have to weigh up the cost of the security (safe etc to a certain standard) against the chance of losing the ring.

Insurers will charge you a rate per 000 on the value but how much will depend on what area you live in I suspect - high risk area for theft means you pay more. I would also suggest that you call the brokers rather than just deal on line as Hiscox will have other products available.

foggytown

Another direction is to see which insurers offer the highest aggregate/single item limit for unspecified valuables and then see what the additional premium is for an increased limit. Axa (in my research, anyway) seemed to offer the best limits in that regard.

StephenMarsh

foggytown wrote: »

Another direction is to see which insurers offer the highest aggregate/single item limit for unspecified valuables and then see what the additional premium is for an increased limit. Axa (in my research, anyway) seemed to offer the best limits in that regard.

Cant see any insurer looking at it as an unspecified item if the value is £10k +

You really need to ascertain the full value of it first as this will effect which insurers will be willing to entertain it and what kind of product you are looking at.

lisyloo

Cant see any insurer looking at it as an unspecified item if the value is £10k +

Try Hiscox
at
https://www.hiscox.co.uk

The single item limit on my policy is £15K.
You need to only specify the total of your contents and the total of your valuables.

We needed an annually serviced alarm but I don't recall a safe being specified.
They are a very good insurer and IMO quite good value but don't expect rock bottom prices.

StephenMarsh

lisyloo wrote: »

Try Hiscox
at
www.hiscox.co.uk

The single item limit on my policy is £15K.
You need to only specify the total of your contents and the total of your valuables.

We needed an annually serviced alarm but I don't recall a safe being specified.
They are a very good insurer and IMO quite good value but don't expect rock bottom prices.

I stand corrected

mid to high networth specialist tho, my post was badly written as I was reffering to off the shelf insurance policies, still my bad.

Hiscox I assume will want a minumum sum insured level ?

I cant imagine needing a safe for 15k normally only required for higher levels of jewellery cover.

I would still recomend getting the ring valued before you take out a policy as it will effect who will insure it and how.

lisyloo

I don't know if there is a minimum sum insured.
Nothing stands out on the website, so I'm afraid someone will have to go through the quote process to find out.
There is nothing stated on the front pages as a minimum.
So it's a case of try it and see.

I don't expect them to be the cheapest, but there are advantages like being able to take your jewelry abroad (it's insured worldwide).

dacouch

lisyloo wrote: »

I don't know if there is a minimum sum insured.
Nothing stands out on the website, so I'm afraid someone will have to go through the quote process to find out.
There is nothing stated on the front pages as a minimum.
So it's a case of try it and see.

I don't expect them to be the cheapest, but there are advantages like being able to take your jewelry abroad (it's insured worldwide).

Because they keep their premiums low in comparison to the high levels of cover they offer, they do have minimum sums insured to ensure they cover their target customers eg Mid and High Net individuals.

If a sum insured on a quote is to low the chances are they won't quote or will want to further underwrite it.

As a very rough rule, I doubt they will want to quote for a risk without contents (Excluding valuables) of upwards of £75000 probably £100000.

I think Steve's advice to get the ring valued is very good advice, while it's being valued it would be a good idea to get the settings etc checked and any work done (Get confirmation this has been done in writing). A lot of Insurers will stipulate this is done on a specified ring of this value and it helps reduce the risk of losing a stone (You may find they stipulate the settings are checked every three years).

It is also a good idea to have photographs taken (By the valuer if possible) as this can help if you need a replacement made and is also invaluable for the police should the ring be stolen and they catch the thief as evidence or for them to circulate photos to help recover it if it's lost or stolen

lisyloo

I just tried it for 30K contents plus £10K valuables.

They inscreased it to £63K contents plus £10K valuables to meet their minimum. (£73K seems a bit odd??)

BTW - Price was £315.

So yes you are right (as expected) they have a minimum and will up the levels if you do a quote.

dacouch

lisyloo wrote: »

I just tried it for 30K contents plus £10K valuables.

They inscreased it to £63K contents plus £10K valuables to meet their minimum. (£73K seems a bit odd??)

BTW - Price was £315.

So yes you are right (as expected) they have a minimum and will up the levels if you do a quote.

Try running a quote through with say valuables of £20000 and see how much they increase the contents to.

I think the £315 price is their minimum premium

Quentin

lisyloo wrote: »

I just tried it for 30K contents plus £10K valuables.

Hiscox are far from "rock bottom" prices (they have minimum premiums much higher than the run of the mill online insurers, and higher excesses), and not really for the £30k market you are in.

You will be able to get your cover for far less than the £315 you have been quoted. (Use a comparison site to start off with, and get a general idea of the market from there).