Insurance Undervaluation of Jewellery

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Surely any good jeweller could estimate what sort of quality that sort of money bought in 1996, and so give an estimate of how much you would have to pay today for the same quality?

InsideInsurance

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

Surely any good jeweller could estimate what sort of quality that sort of money bought in 1996, and so give an estimate of how much you would have to pay today for the same quality?

Only very roughly. See what Goldsmiths or Beaverbrooks sell and get a company in the jewelry quarter of birmingham etc to quote to make the identical thing and it can be massive difference and the higher the standard in these high street jewelers the bigger the difference. Go to somewhere like BlueNile and its even lower. Of cause add a real brand name rather than high street and the price would be even higher.

The good jeweller would need to know not only the prices in 96 but also who the retailer was and where their position in the market was

rs65

InsideInsurance wrote: »

The good jeweller would need to know not only the prices in 96 but also who the retailer was and where their position in the market was

Hence why it needs to be a good jeweller.

Of course it will only be rough but would be as good as whatever the insurer are using just now. Much more accurate than messing about with charts which may have no relevance.

wsmurray1

The ring was bought from Fraser Hart in Glasgow. That's the reason the insurer is giving for increasing the valuation as they appreciate the diamonds would not have been the lowest grade from there.

I phoned them at the start and their records don't go back that far. What we will have to do is trawl through photographs and try and find one where my wife's hand is easily visible and blow that up. At least then we can show the size and set of diamond that needs to be made and ask Fraser Hart how much it would be. We would just have to rely on them to know roughly what quality of diamond would have been in that ring back in 1996. In the end though we may have a better chance of getting a replica made within the insurance valuation through the insurance company than Fraser Hart.

pastjamu

Lesson learned I hope!!! Keep photos of Specified Items, keep valuations up to date (most insurers insist on nothing older than 3 years old for Specified Items) and finally, make sure you are not 'under-insured' - which is why it is best to arrange insurance via a broker rather than online comparison sites who do not offer any advice!

InsideInsurance

pastjamu wrote: »

which is why it is best to arrange insurance via a broker rather than online comparison sites who do not offer any advice!

Many personal lines brokers are also non-advisory these days and ask the same questions as the online web forms do.

If you dont think that your jewelry has gone up in value a lot then it doesnt matter if a computer or human asks if you have anything over £2k in value you'll answer no both ways.