Lost one earring and making an insurance claim.Advice needed please.

pierrored

My wife came back from shopping and discovered one of her stud earrings was missing.She thinks it may have come out when she was putting her coats hood up and down in the wet weather.

Their value last year for insurance purposes was £750.

They were bought about 8 years ago from monies collected when she finished work,so they have sentimental value as well.

We have spent a long time searching but nothing.

The earrings have been insured on our House Insurance(never had a claim) since they were purchased and we have a £150 excess.

Will the Insurance company class them as 1 item and settle for £750 less the £150 excess?

Will the Insurance company pay out on one earring and settle for £325 less the £150 excess?

If they do what will happen to the other one?

My wife says she can't match the 1 earring that she has left.

dacouch

Look in your policy for a definition of "Pairs and Sets" of "matching sets"

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/10/oct-houshold-disasters.htm

forgotmyname

A good jeweller can match anything.

TSx

No insurance company is likely to consider as a 'set' as they are clearly a single item just in two parts. It would become a set if there was a matching bracelet, for example.

The company is likely to do either

1) Make a matching earring for your wife using an approved jeweller
2) Settle for the full replacement cost - and most likely request the second earring from your wife as it will then belong to them. If they do this, you can usually buy it back for a nominal sum (around £100 or so).

For an item under £1,000 I'd be surprised if they went down the making a matching item route, but it could happen.

If they settle on the replacement cost, it is likely to be based on a quote from a jewellers they have a relationship with. Assuming the £750 is the retail value they will most likely offer £750 in vouchers or around £450-500 in cash (before excess). They are only entitled to make a deduction for the discount they receive if the jeweller can provide an equivalent item.

xMonsoonx

The insurer will settle your claim based on either the retail cost of a replacement pair, your policies single article limit or the amount you have insured them for. Or they may have suppliers that can make an exact copy, in which case their liability will be the cost of replacing the missing earring.

If they settle claim based on a replacement pair they will require the remaining earring as it now belongs to the insurer.

pierrored

Just a little update.
Spoke to Ins Co. and told them to go ahead with claim and they said they would get in touch with one of "their" jewellers who would ring me up and arrange for the earring to be posted to them by special delivery(s.a.e. paid by jeweller)The Insurance Co. informed me that I c could withdraw my claim anytime during the process.

The jewellery man explained that they would give a price for making a copy earring and my policy excess was £300 and pointed out that I did not have to accept their price and I could withdraw my claim at any time.I said the excess was £150 so he advised me to get back to Ins Co. regarding excess.


The policy wording was ambiguous so I rang Ins Co. who agreed they thought it should be £150 but when the Ins Co. spoke to the underwriters who said it was £300 and unfortunately I have to agree.

If I had known all this I would not have claimed and tried to get one made up locally.

It's all my fault for misreading my policy. I feel like a right idiot because it's going to be an expensive mistake/lesson with £300 excess, loss of no claims etc.

Thanks to everyone for being so helpful.Keep you informed.

FutureGirl

But as they have advised you 2/3 times - you can still withdraw the claim... then you won't have to pay the excess and your NCB will still be intact.