There are plenty of things the wedding industry tries to convince you are “must haves” that… aren’t. But over the course of life—which, despite how it feels now, will go on far past your wedding—shit happens. For example, I just wrote about damaging my diamond wedding band beyond repair, and you may have heard the truly awful story of Meg’s engagement ring being stolen out of her house. Maddie is still in possession of her engagement and wedding rings, but only barely. She takes them off so often and leaves them such random places that it concerns Meg’s preschooler. (The APW team is apparently not to be trusted with wedding jewelry.) Long story short? Getting your jewelry insured is something that may take a bit of extra time and effort now, but can save you tons of hassle, emotional anguish, and yes, money, in the future. So today we’ve partnered up with Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company to tell you why jewelry insurance isn’t a must have, but instead one of those OMG I’m so goddamn glad I do haves. Here’s why:
It’s Cheaper Than You’d Think (And Easier too)
Getting a policy through Jewelers Mutual® is so fast that by the time you add it to your to do list, you could be done already. Just head over to www.jewelersmutual.com, input the purchase price for your jewelry and your zip code, and boom, the Internet magic spits out a quote. (And until you decide you want to apply for a policy or save your quote for later, you don’t even have to enter your email address.) If you’re ready to apply for a policy, all it takes are a few more easy questions and you get a policy effective immediately. You’ll need an itemized receipt or an appraisal to confirm the value of your jewelry. Jewelers Mutual will tell you exactly what you need after they receive your application, and you’re still covered in the meantime. If I had been proactive enough to get my $600 wedding band insured, my personal policy would have cost a whopping $30 a year, with no deductible.
It covers a hell of a lot
The short answer to what jewelry insurance covers is… a lot. The long answer is that Jewelers Mutual offers the most comprehensive coverage you can get. Here’s what they have to offer:
- Loss: You left your ring somewhere—on a beach towel or in a public bathroom. (It happens. Quite a lot if you’re Maddie.) Bottom line, it’s out there somewhere and you can’t find it. It’s covered.
- Theft: We all know that horrific feeling of when something important to you gets stolen. Meg assures us that feeling keeps you up at night when it involves your engagement ring. But luckily you won’t ever have to experience the feeling of finding out that your stolen piece isn’t covered, because Jewelers Mutual has your back there too.
- Damage: You hit your diamond ring on the edge of a table and it cracks (hello yes, that’d be me!), or you’re pulling on a sweater and a prong is bent. Accidents happen. They’ll cover that.
- Mysterious Disappearance: Sometimes jewelry just disappears—it could be lost, stolen or hanging out in a drainpipe somewhere. You may not be able to explain how it got into that drainpipe (Maddie), but that’s okay, because it’s covered.
PLUS you get:
- Travel coverage worldwide, no matter where you go with your jewelry.
- An optional $0 deductible.
- A guarantee that if you need your jewelry repaired or replaced, Jewelers Mutual will do everything in their power to repair or replace your jewelry with something that is indistinguishable from the original (particularly useful if you have a unique ring or a stone that’s hard to replicate):
The lost diamond was a very unique cut and it was difficult for our jeweler to find a replacement. Jewelers Mutual insisted that the replacement be the exact same cut and had a stone specifically cut for us. —Jay
- Work with your own jeweler: Unlike many homeowner’s and renter’s policies, Jewelers Mutual doesn’t require multiple estimates and they’ll never force you to work with a designated jeweler.
No surprise coverage limits
Speaking of homeowner’s and renter’s policies, you may be thinking, “Isn’t my ring already covered? Can’t I just add it there?” And yup, that might end up being the best bet for you. Just do yourself a favor and don’t skip confirming that your current policy is enough to cover your ring. (Pro tip: the maximum jewelry coverage on most standard renter’s or homeowner’s insurance policies is usually $1,000 to $1,500.) You may also want to consider whether your renter’s or homeowner’s provider is easy to work with, and whether a jewelry claim would incur your deductible or cause an increase in your rates. The benefits of working with a specialized insurance company like Jewelers Mutual is that they don’t make you jump through hoops if something happens. And unlike standard coverage, specialized insurance companies only ever deal in the kind of product you’re covering, so they usually have special caveats in their policies for circumstances like when the loss or damage is your fault, or the piece is difficult to replace.
So while it’s easy to skip getting your ring insured in the flurry of getting engaged, when twelve hours in, your parents are already asking you to set a date, and suddenly finding a venue is akin to a family emergency, with Jewelers Mutual you can get it done in about as much time as it takes to make a pot of coffee. Which is way, way less time than it takes to find a venue. And if you’re not engaged yet but it’s in the works, maybe just forward this post on to the ring buyer, and he or she can get that bad boy insured before it even hits your finger. Because while it’d be awesome to never have to use jewelry insurance, marriage is long and diamonds are not always forever.
This post was sponsored by Jewelers Mutual. For over 100 years, Jewelers Mutual has specialized in protecting jewelry and only jewelry. Jewelers Mutual believes that your insurance should be built around the way you live your life, with comprehensive coverage, worldwide protection that allows you to travel and stay covered, flexibility to work with your own jeweler, personal assistance when you need it, and a fast, professional, compassionate claim experience. Click here to get an instant, no-obligation quote for jewelry insurance from Jewelers Mutual.
