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You bought it because you loved it. Whether it's a precious piece of jewelry, a painting, sculpture, antiques, rare coins or memorabilia, it's important to protect the possessions you cherish the most.   Homeowners policies have limitations on the protection provided for valuable items. This is where personal articles insurance (also known as a valuable articles insurance policy or an insurance rider) can help.

Five things you may not know about valuable articles insurance

Homeowners coverage is limited for some valuables.

Your homeowners policy will protect the majority of your personal possessions (in fact, the personal property coverage on your homeowners policy is usually 70-75% of your dwelling coverage). But your high-value items like jewelry, artwork, silver and antiques are most likely not fully covered. Of course, if we’re talking about something that’s less than $500 in value, you’re probably sufficiently covered. Chances are you’ve invested time, passion and money into more than just one treasured possession, so what happens if your favorite item gets lost or stolen? A good personal articles insurance policy will protect you.

Personal articles insurance covers more than you may think.

• Computer Equipment
• Sports Equipment  (such as bicycles, golf clubs)
• Collectibles
• Jewelry
• Musical Instruments
• Furs
• Cameras
• Silverware/Goldware
• Fine Art (like oriental rugs and paintings)

You can insure your valuables for their actual worth.

You should insure your valuables in advance, before anything happens.  Dollar for dollar, an insurance value must be settled upon. If you still have the sales receipt, it can be based on what you paid for the item. Otherwise, it will have to rely on the item’s appraised value.  Keep in mind that most insurance companies require an appraisal be done within the last three to five years.

You have choices when it comes to your personal property coverage.

If your valuable items aren’t covered completely because they’ve fallen outside of the specific item coverage limits on your homeowners policy, don’t worry. You can customize your policy with additional coverage options to protect what you care about most. Available options include jewelry insurance, or coverage known as scheduled personal property (SPP), and extended coverage on specific items or collections.

With each policy, some things are covered, and some things are not.

Personal Property Protection

• This kind of coverage is subject to your deductible, it applies to the personal property used or owned by the named insured worldwide (restrictions apply).
• Except where limited or excluded in your policy, this covers accidental and sudden direct physical loss caused by a named peril
• If the property is located or stored anywhere other than your primary home, your personal property coverage is limited to a smaller percentage of your homeowners dwelling coverage that regular personal property.
• A resident employee or guest’s personal property is covered while that property is in the residence where the named insured lives.

Extended Coverage on Jewelry, Watches and Furs

• When added onto the policy, this coverage applies to, gold, watches, platinum, jewelry, precious and semi-precious stones, gems and furs, and is subject to the policy’s deductible.
• While there are some specified exclusions, this extended coverage covers accidental and sudden direct physical loss, such as mysterious disappearance.
• There are coverage limitations based on the number of occurrences as well as a per-item limit.
• Typically, the amount of coverage isn’t added to amount of personal property coverage.
• You may choose blanket or item coverage.  Item coverage is written for a set dollar amount and is typically for high-value pieces like a wedding ring. Blanket coverage lets you insure a specific category like gold jewelry for an overall dollar amount.  This is what you want if you have many items of lesser values (e.g. $25,000 of gold jewelry with no one piece worth over $2500). 

Scheduled Personal Property (SPP) Endorsement

• This coverage is outside the limit of personal property on the rest of your policy
• Coverage must be 100% of current market value; this insures items against all risks.  A recent appraisal or sales receipt is usually required to establish the item’s value.
• While restrictions and limits may apply, this covers damage to or loss of an insured person’s personal property as scheduled for all risks, including direct physical loss worldwide and mysterious disappearance. But coverage on firearms, fine arts and business personal property is limited to within the United States and Canada
• You may write this policy with higher deductibles, and it can be different than the deductible amount on your policy. SPP isn’t subject to the policy's deductible unless written as such.
• SPP coverage typically costs more than Extended Coverage but it offers more specific coverage for your protection
• When it comes to sets and pairs (like losing one earring), if the item has been listed on a scheduled personal property insurance policy, it can be either replaced or repaired so its value is restored to the pre-loss value. The policy may pay the difference of the value of the property after and before the loss.

As you can see, personal property coverage can be complicated. Do you know what you need and what you don’t?  Everyone could use some advice when it comes to our cherished possessions, so why not call up your insurance agent and get some pointers? They can help customize a personal articles insurance plan that covers you when the unexpected happens.

Be sure to look for our blog series on insurance reviews. As always, hope to hear your questions and suggestions on the insurance topics that interest you.