Claiming on home insurance for a damaged ring

gray821

Hi, I've been fortunate enough to never have to make a home insurance claim so have no idea how it works. Any thoughts would be great.

I have an opal and diamond ring (one large opal and many small diamonds in the surround) that is just over 3 years old. It has been worn occasionally. The opal has changed shape in the setting and tonight it came out of the setting whilst in a restaurant. We lost the opal, but managed to retrace our steps and found it in the restaurant.

The ring was bought for £1,800 from a high street retailer (but the specific size needed to be delivered to us) and had an RRP of £2,500.

I have home insurance. I've tried to include the core details below

1. Building and contents insurance.
2. Buildings includes accidental damage but contents does not.
3. I have insured specific high value items, including this ring for £2,200.
4. The specific item insurance includes 'outside of the home' cover.
5. The compulsory excess is £100 and the voluntary excess is £200.

Will I be able to claim on the insurance to get help with the ring? Have I messed up by not having accidental damage for the contents?

I feel like the ring is not of sufficient quality. The opal is too soft - it should not be misshapen or able to fall out of the setting after a few years of not much use.

Do I have any recourse with the retailer? Or will I be able to claim repair or replacement (I have no idea how much repair will cost, especially if it involves 'fixing the opal')?

Note: The only place I can see selling the exact same ring at the moment is the same retailer for £2,400.

Woodstok2000

Hard to say for sure without reading your policy documents, but it's very unlikely to be covered by contents insurance if you don't have accidental damage cover. You can try the retailer, although as you're past 6 months, if requested by the retailer you will need to demonstrate any defect was present when purchased - e.g. by getting a professional jewellery to examine it and write a report.

twopenny

True opals are renowned for breaking or falling out of their settings and that's how they got the reputation in the past for being unlucky.

What exactly are you claiming for? Is it for repair? How much is the excess?

You say that after a few years you 'feel' it's not of sufficient quality. You need to prove that it is not.

Is it a solid opal or is it a doublet or triplet or even crushed opal? And what type of setting, claw or solid?

The reason I ask is because these are all things relevant to the stone falling out of the setting and whether the setting is of sufficient quality which you want to suggest to the retailer.

gray821

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895497#Comment_81895497

Hi, might be easiest to just share the link. It’s this

https://www.ernestjones.co.uk/le-vian-14ct-rose-gold-opal-058ct-diamond-ring/p/V-1114662?cm_mmc=SEM_Google:EJ%7C%7CShopping%7C%7CBrand%7C%7CBrand%20Inclusion::1114719&_$ja=acid:122-702-5243%7Ccid:21809561714%7Cagid:%7Ctid:%7Ccrid:%7Cnw:x%7Crnd:10266246468930274661%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9046775&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21809581154&gbraid=0AAAAAC80tdbjDXtlsMGhPn8YsMZZ0iuQy&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6Yf_7p_ukgMVdI5QBh2blzkQEAQYAiABEgLSn_D_BwE

Honestly it’s just happened tonight and I’m not sure what I’m claiming for. I also have no idea how much the repair would cost…what’s happened is the opal has misshapen and tonight fell out of the setting. I’m imagining that to actually repair the centre stone would be expensive. The excess is £300.

Also, I don’t think I’d say this is an accident. My wife wasn’t doing anything in particular, she didn’t knock it or hit it against anything to make the stone fall out. Although of course there’s an issue of proving that.

TSx

If you specify an item away from home, then it will normally mean it is covered for accidental damage or loss (plus theft, fire etc). Contents accidental damage is for contents within your home. It's possible you have a very unusual policy but if you've specified the item to be covered outside your home, then it should have cover for this incident (loss of the stone / damage to the ring)

Personally, I would take it to a local jeweller and find out how much it's going to be to repair. Anything more than £600 is probably worth claiming. A single claim on your insurance won't have much impact but if you have to make another claim in the next 3-5 years, your premiums will go up massively. Normally they can just reset the stone and I imagine the cost will be less than £300. If they need to replace the opal it will be more expensive.

LightFlare

I’m not sure exactly what you could claim for on an insurance policy

Any suggested damage/change to the stone won’t have happened during a single incident (unless you can prove otherwise), nothing is actually lost or broken by the true sense of the word.

A repair for what could probably be classed as wear and tear is unlikely to be covered.

The only avenue I can see is a “not fit for purpose” claim. But after 3 years, the onus will be on you to prove so

MyRealNameToo

The fact there is no such thing as the Yahwah Mine in Ethiopia, where they claim to source the "Neapolitan" Opal probably tells you all you need to know. Unfortunately the reality with most high street jewellers is that the sales price is the one closer to the reality of its worth and the claimed original RRP is just absolute fantasy.

Opals by their nature are soft, they can be over 20% water. If you claim it's not of sufficient quality then that is a matter to take up with the retailer and not something covered by insurance.

If one of the claws are bent or just mal aligned then it could be accidental damage. Check your policy for Personal Possessions section, most policies include accidental damage even if you havent taken it for goods in the home. Some better policies will describe it as "all risks" in which case anything is covered unless its explicitly excluded.

First of all get yourself off to a proper jewellers, if you still have the opal it's likely to cost a lot less than £300 to reset. Even replacing the opal isnt going to hit the £300, upgrade to a black opal like https://wardgemstones.com/black-opal-oval-6-7x4-3-cabochon-o10096.html or a black lightning https://wardgemstones.com/lightening-ridge-australia-black-opal-freeform-7-8x4-5-o4071.html would still be under £300 with setting.