Insuring jewllery

horseykitty

I have recently inherited some jewellery from my mum. There's quite a bit of it, much of which isn't to my taste and I would never wear but some has great sentimental value and I would never part with it.

My problem is finding out how much it is worth and how much I should insure it for. I recently had a couple of my own rings enlarged and when I asked the jeweller how much he thought a particular ring I had was worth/should be insured for he was very cagey. He said all he could do was show me a similar one in the shop for comparison. The reason being he charges £50 for the first item and then £38 for subsequent items to be valued!

I wasn't expecting it to be done for nothing but it seems to be rather excessive. This was in a small jewellers local to me - do the big chains charge a similar sort of price for this service?

InsideInsurance

Many jewellers charge a percentage of the value of the item(s) plus a floor price incase they all turn out to be gold plate and paste.

Have to say that I am yet to find a cost effective way of getting expensive items of jewellary to be valued - though at £50 for a single item I would snap his hand off, a jeweller estimated £250 to value just my wife's engagement ring.

horseykitty

Thanks for your reply InsideInsurance - still think the charges are excessive. When I think of what my husband charges to value houses for mortgage purposes, it would seem he is in the wrong trade!

To value for insurance purposes are we talking 5 x the price you paid for an item or think it's worth?

InsideInsurance

As I say, most charge a percentage of their value so if it turns out to be a load of scrap gold plate and paste rather than stones you don't pay too much and it's in their interest to be "optimistic" with the valuations for you. The down side is when you have a few pieces you know are high value. In those cases you may be able to negotiate flat prices.