In May 2023, some of the most valuable jewels of all time were out in public on the head of the world’s newest king, Charles III.
Worth more than even Elizabeth Taylor’s stockpile (which sold for $116 million in 2011), the Crown Jewels are so valuable they are considered priceless. It’s safe to say that the Royal Family has some sort of mega security system in place.
And while we may not all have a jewelry collection that impressive, if you have a ring, some earrings, your grandfather’s watch, or even an Apple Watch — you should consider jewelry insurance, too.
Compared to homeowners insurance, jewelry insurance is more specialized and is underwritten to provide greater financial coverage. A standard homeowners insurance policy, by contrast, may provide some coverage for your jewelry, but is often capped at a $1,500 limit for jewelry losses. And while it may be possible to increase this limit on some homeowners policies, you may not be able to stretch it enough to cover all of jewelry — especially if you have any big-ticket items, like an engagement ring or a smart watch.
Ultimately, it’s up to you how you want to insure your baubles, but there are some particular perks to jewelry insurance. One of the benefits that people bring up the most often is that if you insure your valuables on a separate jewelry policy and you eventually have to make a claim, that claim will not appear on a CLUE report for your homeowners insurance.
Have no clue what a CLUE report is? We’re here for you. A CLUE report (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is a report that homeowners insurance companies use to see what claims have been filed by on a property. So if your jewelry is protected under your homeowner's insurance policy and you end up making a claim related to it, there is a good chance that the claim will appear on your CLUE report. That, in turn, may cause your premium to go up the next time your homeowners policy renews.
An increase in the rate of your homeowners policy could be significant in terms of how much you need to pay monthly, whereas jewelry insurance — which is separate and therefore a great way to keep that CLUE report clean — is a relatively inexpensive policy. Typically the price for jewelry insurance comes in at about 1-2% of the item’s value, making it a pretty efficient way to ensure you can repair or replace your jewelry in the case of an accident — without having to worry about any increases to your homeowners’ policy.
If you’re in the market for a jewelry insurance policy, we’re fans of Jewelers Mutual. Their digital application process only takes a few minutes to complete, so you can easily get insured today. And once you’ve purchased your policy, you can then store it in your Marble account, so you can keep all your policies secure in one digital wallet — all while earning rewards.