Are Your Valuables Covered by Homeowners Insurance?
By USInsurance.com Staff
The answer to this question is both yes and no. If you have valuables such as jewelry, furs, art collections, antiques or other high-priced items, you will want to protect them with insurance. Your homeowners insurance may cover some of the items, but there is a cap (or limit) to what they will pay you if you lose your valuables through theft or fire. Check your policy carefully so you will know what the limits are. You really need to discuss this with your insurance agent. You very well may need additional insurance for these items.
One of the first things you should be doing in order to obtain insurance quotes is to make a photographic or video record of your valuables. Take good photos of each item, and then store the video or the photos away from your home. A safe deposit box is an excellent place for these. You need to have a detailed inventory of these items as well. It may be time consuming to inventory every stamp in a stamp collection, for instance, but if you ever have to prove you owned them, it is something you just need to do to protect yourself.
You need current appraisals of each item. It is never a good idea to just guess at what something is worth. The insurance company will not accept your guess as actual value. So get valuables appraised by a credible appraiser. In case of a loss, most insurance companies will not accept an appraisal that is more than five years old. Keep these with the photos in the safe deposit box.
Any paperwork you have concerning your valuables needs to be kept in a safe place. Remember you can always make a photocopy of the receipts if you need to have them in your home for some reason. Also, some receipts will fade over time, so a photocopy is just a good idea.
You need to do a current inventory of your possessions on a regular basis. Whenever you buy a new expensive item, or change the contents of a collection you may own, you need to take care of the inventory. You also need to sit down with your insurance agent on a regular basis and re-evaluate your homeowners insurance coverage. While some things you own depreciate over time, such as electronics, some of your possessions will increase in value. Things like antiques become more valuable the older they get, and this needs to be taken into account every year or so. It is recommended that you reevaluate your coverage every year.
After a loss is no time to discover that your traditional homeowners insurance policy will only pay you from $1,000 to $2,000 for all of your valuables. It is up to you to guard your investment. Follow the steps mentioned here to make sure your valuables will be covered in case of loss, and talk with your agent to see what he or she may suggest as well.
Insurance Guide
Auto Insurance
Home Insurance
Life Insurance
Renters Insurance