Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Damaged or Lost Jewelry?
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Jewelry is likely among the most valuable items you own. Because it's fragile and easily stolen, it's often covered by homeowners insurance in a more limited way than other personal property.
When is jewelry covered by homeowners insurance?
Homeowners insurance covers jewelry lost or damaged due to a covered peril, such as theft or fire.
Insurance commonly covers damage caused by:
- Theft
- Fire or lightning
- Hailstorm or windstorm
- Aircraft
- Explosions
- Riots or civil disturbances
- Smoke
- Vehicles
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
- Volcanic eruption
- Snow, ice or sleet
- Electrical current
- Pipes freezing
- Water heater cracking, tearing or burning
- Water due to plumbing, heating or air conditioning overflow
Additionally, if your jewelry could possibly be lost or damaged in a flood, you'll need a separate flood insurance policy. Standard homeowners policies don't cover natural floods.
How much jewelry does a home insurance policy cover?
Your homeowners insurance might offer coverage that's higher than the value of your jewelry. But you can't apply all of it to your jewelry. First, most policies provide personal property coverage at around 50% of the total insurance coverage. So, even if your policy has $400,000 of coverage, only $200,000 of that could be used for personal property.
Second, jewelry is considered high-value property that can be easily lost or stolen. So policies typically have coverage limits — often between $1,000 and $2,000.
How to increase coverage for your jewelry
If your jewelry is worth more than your policy covers, you can purchase an endorsement or floater. Also known as scheduled personal property coverage, this is a way to raise the coverage limits of specific high-value items.
Premiums for floaters depend on what you add, how much the items are worth and where you reside. Unlike homeowners personal property coverage, there's no deductible for items covered by a floater.
An added benefit of a floater is the protection some offer. For example, a floater might cover you if you lose or leave behind a pricey ring on vacation. Personal property coverage, on the other hand, would not, since it's not a listed peril.
When raising coverage limits, your company will likely require you to have the items appraised, unless you recently bought them and have receipts.
When should you get a separate policy for your jewelry?
Jewelry protection insurance is a separate policy for jewelry only. It covers your jewelry beyond common perils, much like a floater. However, unlike a floater, claims made against a jewelry protection insurance policy aren't counted as a claim against your homeowners insurance.
Here's how a standard homeowners insurance policy, a floater and jewelry protection insurance compare:
Type of coverage | Covered perils | Limit | Deductible | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homeowners insurance | Listed perils only | Typically capped at $1,000 to $2,000 | Homeowners insurance deductible | No additional premium | |
| Floater | Listed perils, plus accidents and maybe other risks | Appraised value | No deductible | Premium based on value, items covered and area of residence | |
| Jewelry protection insurance | All events, accidents and unintentional damage | Appraised value | May have a deductible | Premium based on value, items covered and area of residence |
Jewelry protection insurance is a smart buy if you want to insure high-value or at-risk jewelry, such as a multicarat diamond ring. The added benefit is that it's a separate policy, so claims won't raise your home insurance rate. (Claims made under home insurance or a floater may affect your premium and future insurability.)
The premiums for most jewelry insurance policies are 1% to 2% of the insured value, meaning $10,000 of coverage might cost only $100 a year.
Best jewelry insurance companies
You can increase coverage on jewelry by either adding an endorsement to your homeowners insurance or just increasing the coverage limit, But with the latter, the limit will be significantly lower. Evaluate what type of coverage is best for your needs.
Below are some of the best companies for jewelry insurance.
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Why it's great
Lemonade offers a high limit on its extra coverage endorsement.
Lemonade offers an exceptionally high coverage limit of $50,000 for jewelry through its extra coverage endorsement, compared with other companies. This endorsement is great whether insuring a single expensive item or a collection.
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Editor rating
Why it's great
Progressive homeowners insurance policyholders can add jewelry coverage.
Progressive offers the option to add jewelry coverage under either a scheduled personal property endorsement or separate policy. With the endorsement, you won't be charged a deductible before coverage kicks in. A stand-alone policy for jewelry, however, will come with a deductible. Typically, Progressive charges 1% to 2% of the total value of the jewelry for one year of coverage.
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Why it's great
State Farm doesn't require high coverage limits for jewelry.
State Farm is a great choice if you want jewelry insurance but don't need a high amount. Coverage limits for jewelry under State Farm's standard homeowners policies start at $2,500. However, based on sample quotes, it would only cost an additional $17 per year to increase that number to $5,000.
How to file a claim for lost or damaged jewelry
If your jewelry is stolen, you should first contact the police to report the theft. Be sure to provide as much information as possible about the stolen jewelry and request a copy of the police report for your insurance company.
If your jewelry is damaged by a peril your policy covers, take pictures of the damaged pieces and the source of the damage.
Next, contact your home insurance provider. If you have separate jewelry protection insurance, you'll need to contact the insurance company of your jewelry insurance policy. When you contact them, you'll have to give details as to what happened to your jewelry. As noted above, depending on the type of coverage you have, you may have to pay a deductible before beginning the replacement or repair process.
If you only have homeowners insurance or a scheduled endorsement for jewelry, your company may require you to use a jeweler of their choice. If you have a separate jewelry protection insurance policy, you decide. This means you can repair or get replacement work done at a jeweler you believe would provide the same kind and quality of jewelry as the missing or damaged piece. The covered amount with jewelry protection insurance is the appraised value of the piece after you pay your deductible, if your policy has one.
Methodology
To find the best homeowners insurance companies for jewelry coverage, sample quotes were collected and coverage options were compared from three major home insurance companies: Lemonade, Progressive and State Farm.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.