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Keeping Your Sparkler Safe: What You Should Know About Insuring Your Jewellery
You’ve popped the champagne, toasted with family and friends, and you can’t stop staring at your left hand. You’re engaged! The next step – before you even say yes to the dress – is to make sure you protect that glittering diamond and keep it safe for many happy years to come.
For most people, an engagement ring is the single most valuable piece of jewellery they own. So, like your home and car, it’s vital to make sure it’s insured and stored safely. Not sure where to start? We’ve outlined a couple of simple steps to help you on your way.
Call your insurer
Many couples insure an engagement ring under their household insurance, such as the home insurance policies with FBD. Most contents cover will include jewellery, but depending on its value, the ring might need to be added as a specified item. It’s important to take your time to go through the details and arrange the right cover for you and your lifestyle. It might also be a good time to evaluate your overall home insurance, especially if you’ve recently renovated, built an extension or purchased new additions for the home. If you’re lucky enough to receive high-value gifts for your engagement or wedding, you’ll want to make sure that these are protected as well, especially if you’re planning on heading off for an exotic honeymoon overseas.
Valuation
In the event of a claim, insurance companies will usually ask for supporting documentation, such as the receipt or an original valuation. The jeweller you or your beloved purchased the ring from will often provide a valuation without charge. If not, the price depends on the value of the ring, and can usually be negotiated. You should choose a reputable jeweller with proper accreditations for this task, as you want to ensure you get an accurate valuation you can rely on. It’s important also to keep the original document safe, sending it to the insurance company by registered post and asking for it to be returned when they’re finished their inspection. Some insurers require you to get the ring valued every couple of years, as the value of jewellery, especially diamonds, can fluctuate. You don’t want to be under or over-insured.
Check the fine print
When it comes to special high-value items such as engagement rings, most insurance policies have certain requirements regarding valuation, maintenance and storage. It’s always a good idea to read through the paperwork and ensure you’re covered for all eventualities including loss, destruction or theft. For most people, it makes sense to get cover for outside the home, as well as inside. Rings can sometimes go missing on holidays – they can easily slip off fingers slick with suncream – so you should probably check that it’s insured overseas before you fly. Depending on the value of your ring, you may be required to keep it in a locked safe when not wearing it. Be careful to take note of these little details so that you’re fully covered should the worst happen.
Keeping it safe
We’ve all seen those social media posts about rings lost in swimming pools, shopping centres and even down a lift shaft. You don’t want that to be you, so have a think about how you can keep your beautiful new ring safe as you go about your daily life. There are small changes you can make that’ll help protect your ring, such as using hotel safes on holidays and secure lockers in the gym. Make sure you don’t leave it out on display at home, and it might be a good idea to leave it on while washing your hands – you certainly don’t want to leave it behind, or worse, watch it disappear down the sink! It can be tricky too to make sure it fits properly, depending on how warm or cool your hands are – if it’s a little loose, you should get it resized or even get a ring-guard fitted. Weddingbee has a handy guide to making sure it sits just right on your finger.
Maintenance
Depending on your contents cover or your specified item policy, you might find that you need to get a professional jeweller to check the ring’s settings every two years or so: nobody wants that precious diamond to come loose. That’s often a good time to get it cleaned, too, as hand sanitiser, creams and washing-up liquid can build up on jewellery, dulling the sparkling effect of a precious jewel. It’s important you bring your ring to a professional, well-recognised and fully insured jeweller to be cleaned or checked, though, so that it’s in safe hands.
Making sure your engagement ring is protected and insured will help give you the peace of mind you need to enjoy this special time of your life – all you have to do now is send out the invitations, organise the party, and show up on the big day!