The personal property coverage in home insurance covers your belongings if they’re destroyed in a disastrous event that qualifies you for reimbursement (covered peril). Naturally, you want this for your highly valued items, such as jewelry. However, home insurance has specific limitations regarding jewelry depending on the type of covered peril.
What Is A Covered Peril?
Home insurance pays out under the condition that your home was destroyed in instances such as:
- Storms
- Fire
- Water damage from broken pipes
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
All of these can seriously damage a home and require hefty repair costs. Home insurance also provides liability coverage for legal fees after a person becomes injured on your property and files a lawsuit.
There is one covered peril that applies to personal belongings, and that’s theft. The coverage for theft is different from coverage provided for other covered perils.
How Does Home Insurance Cover Damaged Jewelry?
If your jewelry has been damaged after an event such as a fire or storm, your personal property coverage up to your policy’s limit, which in most cases, is 50% of your home’s insured value.
How Does Home Insurance Cover Stolen Jewelry?
Home insurance provides reimbursement for theft based on sublimits. A sublimit is also called a special limit of liability, where your policy won’t disburse more than a specific amount. Most policies reimburse up to $1,500 for stolen jewelry. You’ll also likely have to pay a deductible when filing a claim.
You can increase coverage for lost or stolen jewelry in one of the following ways:
- Ask your insurer if they can increase your coverage
- Add a scheduled property coverage endorsement to raise your sublimit for an additional premium
When Am I Not Covered?
You won’t be covered if you misplace or lose your jewelry. Even accidents, such as unintentionally dropping jewelry down the drain, are not covered by standard home insurance policies.
However, lost jewelry can be covered as a “mysterious disappearance” if you add a scheduled property coverage endorsement, which not only increases sublimits but adds more covered perils to your coverage.
What Do I Need To File A Claim?
The more proof you have, the better. If it’s an event that causes physical damage, it’s best to document the source of damage via pictures and videos. If your jewelry is stolen, you’ll need to file a police report first, then obtain a copy of that police report and send it to the insurance company when filing your claim.
To get the most out of your reimbursement, it is a good idea to provide receipts and appraisals to get fairer compensation for your loss.
Get The Policy You Deserve
At Hometown Financial Group, you won’t have to worry about what will happen next after a disaster or case of theft. We will get you the most extensive coverage for your money and ensure you get the policy (and compensation) you deserve. Call us today at (919) 887-1236.