Should I Insure My Valuables? – Part 2

Much like you should insure your jewelry separately from your standard contents, it can be a good idea to purchase coverage for other valuables.

Unfortunately, it is often less obvious what to insure – in the case of jewelry, you know that pieces such as engagement rings, wedding bands, and family heirlooms need to be scheduled, but which items in your home should be covered by valuables insurance?

When To Take Out Insurance

If your hobby involves expensive equipment or you collect valuable items, you should consider taking out insurance. Here are some examples of possessions that our clients have scheduled:

• Cameras and camera equipment
• Golf clubs
• Silverware
• Wine collection for a client who managed a winery
• Antiques, including turn-of-the-century furniture and a duck decoy collection
• Dinosaur fossils
• All kinds of fine arts

Fine Arts is easily the second most popular category of valuables after jewelry and is relatively inexpensive to insure. It encompasses many things such as paintings, sculptures, fine china, and more. It is possible to insure art from the moment of purchase, for coverage during transit, and while in the possession of another person (you must inform your insurance company when lending artwork to a museum).

Benefits Of Insuring Valuables

There are four main benefits of valuables insurance:

• You can assign an exact value to individual items to ensure you receive the amount they are worth in the case of loss, theft, or damage.
• The insurance company will have a description of the item, preventing a debate at the time of your claim.
• There is no need to pay a deductible.
• Items are insured for more perils than they would be with personal property coverage.

To understand just how beneficial valuables insurance can be, consider these stories about two of our clients:

One of our clients purchased a new painting for his NYC condo and hired a professional to hang it; however, after just a short time, the painting fell off the wall. Luckily, the painting was scheduled and his insurance company paid for damages to be repaired through a certified art restorer.

Another of our clients owned two oriental rugs, together worth around $120,000, both of which were severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy. After attempting to restore the pieces, his insurance company deemed them beyond repair and paid him the full value of each.