Diamond Engagement and Wedding Ring Insurance Options

Your engagement and wedding rings are symbols of your love. They’re also a significant financial investment. As with any high-value asset, it makes sense to protect your investment with insurance coverage. Here’s what you need to know about your diamond engagement and wedding ring options.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Engagement and Wedding Rings?

A homeowners or renters insurance policy will likely include some coverage for your personal belongings, including diamond engagement and wedding rings. However, this does not mean that you don’t need additional coverage. There are two main reasons why your standard homeowners insurance policy alone may not cover you diamond rings sufficiently: the limits may not be enough and common losses may be excluded.

You Need Higher Limits

The first potential problem is that your homeowners insurance policy limits on individual items may not be high enough to cover the value of your expensive jewelry.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), coverage for personal belongings is often set at 50% to 70% of the limit for the structure of your house. This means that if your house is insured for $1 million, you might have a limit of $500,000 to $700,000 for your personal belongings. This is for ALL of your personal belongings, though, not each individual item. Your policy will also likely contain a limit on individual items, and it may be around $1,500.

Many engagement rings cost a lot more than $1,500. According to The Knot 2021 Jewelry and Engagement Study, the average cost of a diamond engagement ring is $6,000. Even people who spend less than this amount may be well over the typical insurance policy limit for a single item. Some rings that have been passed down as family heirlooms may also be worth more than the limit.

Common Losses May Be Excluded

Another potential problem is that your homeowners insurance policy may exclude common losses associated with jewelry.

The III says that an H-03 Policy is the most popular type of homeowners insurance policy, and it provides coverage for 16 perils. These perils include fire, explosion, vandalism and theft, so if your ring is destroyed in a fire or stolen by a burglar, you should be able to file a claim, up to your policy limits.

But what if you lose your ring? What if it falls down a drain and can’t be found? These losses might not be covered by your homeowners insurance policy.

Your Diamond Ring Insurance Options

Your current homeowners insurance policy may not provide adequate coverage for your high-value jewelry, but you do have several insurance options.

• Increase your limits. If the ring you need to insure is only slightly above your current limit for individual items, you may be able to have the limits raised. Note, however, that this will not provide coverage for additional loss events. If a claim isn’t covered, the limit won’t matter.
• Purchase a separate policy just for your ring. You get separate insurance for your jewelry. You may need a receipt or an appraisal to prove the value of the ring.
• Schedule your jewelry by adding a floater to your homeowners insurance policy. This is a simple way to obtain limits that are high enough to cover the replacement cost of high-value items. You can also obtain coverage for additional losses this way. Again, you may need a receipt or an appraisal to prove the value of the ring.

Do you need help navigating your diamond engagement and wedding ring insurance options? Talk to a FICOH agent.