By Eric Rosenberg, WCI Contributor

While doctors are usually very familiar with malpractice and homeowners insurance, they may not have experience with insurance for high-value items like artwork or jewelry. As your assets grow and diversify and you buy expensive items, it’s essential to protect yourself financially in case they’re lost, stolen, or damaged.

Since insurance for these items may fall outside of what your regular homeowners insurance covers, let’s take a look at how insurance works for high-value possessions.

 

Homeowners and Renters Insurance for High-Value Items

With homeowners and renters insurance, your possessions are covered to an extent. Your policy documents can help you learn more about your policy limits, which are usually separate from those related to replacing the physical structure in case of damage or loss.

You’ll also find that personal property coverage imposes specific limits on valuables, and certain items may be excluded entirely. If you have a valuable collection or high-ticket items, read your policy carefully or check with your insurance company or agent to determine if it’s covered.

 

Key Considerations

More information here:

I Hadn’t Shopped for Insurance in Decades – Could I Have Been Saving Thousands Every Year?

What Happens If You Can’t Get Homeowner’s Insurance in Your State?

 

Specialty Insurance for High-Value Items

High-value items that commonly fall outside of your homeowners insurance include:

  • Expensive jewelry, watches, and gems (usually limited to $1,000-$2,500 total)
  • Fine art, antiques, and collectibles
  • Cash and valuable papers (typically limited to $200-$500)
  • Electronics and computers (often have per-item limits)
  • Firearms (usually limited to $2,000-$5,000)
  • Silverware and fine china (typically limited to $2,500-$5,000)
  • Musical instruments (especially high-value ones)
  • Furs (usually limited to $1,000-$2,500)
  • Expensive sporting equipment
  • Business equipment used at home

Getting extra insurance coverage for these categories is a good way to ensure you can repair or replace them.

 

Specialty Insurance Example

An engagement ring is one of the first high-value items many people own that could require separate coverage. Let’s use that as an example. Assume you or your spouse wears a ring appraised at $10,000, and high-value jewelry isn’t included in your homeowner’s policy by default.

You have a few options to get full coverage for the ring, which is a financially prudent decision. You’ll likely need a recent appraisal from a jeweler to get started.

 

Risk Limited Coverage with Homeowner’s Policy

If you don’t take any further action, your homeowner’s insurance will likely cover you up to the policy limits for jewelry, typically around $1,000-$2,500.

While having this as a backup plan is nice, it would be a shame if something happened to your $10,000 ring, and you only got 10% of its value back from insurance. You don't need additional coverage if you’re willing to pay the difference out of pocket, but we certainly wouldn’t risk it!

 

Add Coverage with a Scheduled Personal Property Rider

You can work with your current home insurance to add the jewelry to your policy. In most cases, insurance add-ons are called riders. A rider requires an additional cost but expands coverage up to the full value of the item or another specified limit.

This is arguably the easiest way to ensure the jewelry is insured up to its full value. Insurers often charge a fee per thousand dollars of coverage for these high-value items. If you want to insure your jewelry with the minimum additional effort, this is the way to go.

 

Get Dedicated Jewelry Insurance

Another option is to get insurance specific for the engagement ring and any other jewelry. Specialized insurers offer some benefits over a rider on your home insurance policy.

  • Potentially lower costs
  • More expertise in handling repair or replacement
  • Easier to add and remove coverage

For these reasons, I decided to insure my family's valuable jewelry with Jewelers Mutual Insurance, a specialty insurer. That’s not an endorsement, but we’ve had a positive experience with this insurer so far.

 

Reasons to Choose Specialty Insurance Over a Rider

  • Covers accidental loss and mysterious disappearance
  • Extends coverage beyond your home, including travel
  • Higher reimbursement limits
 

How to Insure Your Valuables: Step By Step

If you have high-value items to insure, follow these steps to buy adequate coverage:

  1. Take inventory: Use an app or spreadsheet to list valuables that go over your home insurance limits or are excluded by your policy.
  2. Get an appraisal: Get professional appraisals for the items to get updated values. The object’s appraised value generally determines insurance policy limits. Keep these appraisals somewhere safe even after getting insurance. Keeping a hard copy filed away and an electronic copy in the cloud gives you redundant access in case of a fire or other disaster at home.
  3. Compare insurers: Compare the cost of insuring these items as a rider on your current policy and a few top specialty insurers. Shopping around can lead to big savings.
  4. Review annually: Periodically get new appraisals and update your coverage as needed. For example, if the price of gold increases or you own works from a popular artist, you’ll want to raise your coverage levels.
  5. Know the claims process: Be prepared to make a claim if needed. While you hopefully won’t ever have a loss, that’s what insurance is for, after all.

More information here:

What to Do When Your Insurance Rates Go Up: A Guide for Physicians

How Much Umbrella Insurance Coverage Do Doctors Need?

 

Common Insurance Mistakes for Valuable Items

Insurance isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it prospect. Avoid these common mistakes to ensure you’re financially protected.

  • Assuming homeowners insurance is enough
  • Neglecting appraisal updates
  • Choosing cheap policies with restrictive exclusions
  • Forgetting to add newly acquired items
 

Don’t Skip Insurance for High-Value Possessions

Like other households, doctors often need more than basic coverage for valuable possessions. A well-structured insurance plan ensures peace of mind and protects you if an item is damaged, lost, or stolen. Review your policies today and fill any gaps before it’s too late.

Check out our list of insurance agents for doctors if you want more personalized help covering your valuables.

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