Jewelry Coverage on Home Insurance: What's Covered?

I posted a trivia question on my Facebook page:  Someone breaks into your home and steals three pieces of jewelry valued at $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 ($8,000 total), how much will a basic home insurance policy cover?

The technical answer to this question is $1,500.  A basic HO-3 policy covers up to $1,500 for theft of jewelry.  However, you can get yourself properly covered with not much hassle and usually for a reasonable price.

Most insurance companies have some type of “Platinum” or “Deluxe” or “Super-Awesomest” rider that they add to your policy that comes with a higher limit for jewelry theft.  The largest home insurer in the country has a rider that ups coverage to $2,500 per claim (still a limit of $1,500 per item).  Erie’s Enhancement Endorsement increases coverage to $5,000/claim (limit of $3,000 per item).

One important type of peril that is generally not covered on home insurance is “mysterious disappearance.”  An example of this would be if you simply lost a piece of jewelry or if the jewelry fell off while you were swimming in the ocean.  In these examples, there would generally be zero coverage.   However, Erie’s Enhancement Endorsement does cover mysterious disappearance on their Ultracover Home Policy.  Check with your current insurer to find out what your policy does and does not cover.

For the larger, more valuable pieces of jewelry, you can normally add them as “scheduled jewelry.”  A ring appraised for $10,000 will usually cost between $85-120/year depending on the area that you live in and the company that insures you.

The reality is that not all home insurance policies are the same.  It’s better to find out before a claim, than find out the hard way after a claim.  Click here to email me any individual questions or call 571-969-3743.