Does Your Homeowners Insurance Cover Jewelry?
Since the Holidays are behind us and we have all received our gifts, now is the perfect time to assess how important our items are to us. For those of you who already have, or recently received valuable gifts such as jewelry, do you know if your homeowners insurance policy covers some of the items you may own? Most people with valuable items assume that their policy covers these things, but in fact it may not.
What should you do if your homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover your personal belongings? You should look into personal property insurance. Since jewelry and other high dollar valuables are considered personal property, most homeowners insurance policies may not have coverage for this. In cases where you own valuable items and your homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover them, you need personal property insurance. This coverage does exactly what it sounds like, covers your personal property.
Personal property insurance not only covers jewelry, but also other high dollar possessions such as firearms, clothing, art, coins, computers, etc. In order to have your possessions covered by personal property insurance, it is recommended that you have your items appraised, especially any jewelry that you think might be valuable. In case an item you own gets stolen, your personal property insurance will cover the value up to a certain amount.
If you need an item replaced, there are two ways it can be done. The first way is the actual cash value, which is assessed at replacement cost minus depreciation. This means you will receive market value for your item in its current condition. The second way your item will be replaced is replacement cost coverage. This is simply defined as your item will be covered for what it would cost to purchase brand new at the time the claim is made.
It is very easy to assume that your homeowners insurance will cover all of your personal belongings, especially since they are in your home after all. It is very important to check the details of your policy to see if you need personal property coverage along with your homeowners insurance.
If you are unsure if your current homeowners policy covers your jewelry or other high dollar items, talk to the professionals at Ion Insurance to see if personal property coverage is right for you.