Precious jewellery worth an estimated £800,000 was stolen from a home in London’s Westminster in May of this year, reported the Telegraph newspaper.
This haul from a singe home invasion might be the tip of the iceberg, though, since the BBC also reported in March of 2019 that a total of £140 million in Asian gold jewellery has been stolen from homes in the past five years.
Jewellery is a prized item for any burglar – it is small enough to pocket, high in value and may be relatively easy to sell on. Any jewellery you own, therefore, is at risk of theft and might even be reason enough for a home invasion.
Home insurance
With perils such as these in mind, you are almost certain to have protected the contents of your home against theft, loss and damage – including items of jewellery you may have.
While contents insurance is naturally a prudent precaution – and offers a degree of protection for any jewellery – you are likely to find that your policy limits the amount you may claim for the theft, loss or damage of any single item of jewellery and also places a ceiling on the total you may claim for losses arising from a single incident or break-in.
The maximum cover for a single piece of jewellery, for example, might be as relatively low as just £1,000 or £2,000.
Jewellery insurance
For adequate protection of your prized jewellery, therefore, specialist jewellery insurance is needed – and preferably informed by a professional valuation of each item.
The amount of cover you need, of course, depends on the total value of your jewellery collection and that of individual items. Typically, you are likely to find that single-item jewellery cover of £15,000 to £25,000 may suffice – but if you have an especially valuable collection or pieces of very high value, of course, your insurer is able to recommend an appropriate insurance cover based on an expert valuation of your treasure.
Valuations for insurance purposes are especially important since individual items of jewellery may reflect significant differences in respect of their value – based on the rarity of the piece, its artistic design, and its craftsmanship at the very least. Unsurprisingly, therefore, jewellery valuation is typically a matter for the experts.
Bespoke jewellery insurance
Some of your items of jewellery may have particular value – your engagement ring or a family heirloom, for example. On the other hand, you may be looking for more general jewellery insurance that ensures adequate protection for several items of higher than usual value.
Perhaps more than any other of your personal possessions, jewellery is a highly individual matter. Jewellery insurance typically reflects this individuality and may be arranged as an entirely bespoke package to ensure that every specific item is safeguarded against theft, loss or damage.
Don’t rely on the typically limited protection likely to be provided by your regular home contents insurance, therefore, but consult a specialist provider of jewellery insurance to rest assured that your valuable keepsakes and family heirlooms.