People around the world celebrate the spirit of love on Valentine’s Day. While many cultures celebrate the occasion, few spend quite as much as the romantic citizens of the United States. We express our love to the tune of $20.7 billion worth of chocolates, flowers, and jewelry each year. For those of you giving or receiving a gift from a loved one, we have a few tips to help you protect your valuable gifts year after year.
1: That original box the jewelry came in is so nice…
…but it’s akin to a neon sign pointing out to would-be thieves where the goods are. The box is better used for your marble collection than for keeping your jewelry. Put the fine items somewhere safe and discreet!
2: Is that a diamond or cubic zirconia? Know what your jewelry is worth.
So that ex-boyfriend gave you beautiful diamond earrings. Or did he? Before you start spending your hard earned money on renters insurance, know what your jewelry is worth. While a proper appraisal for larger pieces might cost a few dollars, any jewelry store in a mall will gladly use a heat tester on the stone, usually at no cost. Before you know what sort of protection you need from your tenant insurance, you need to know exactly what you’re trying to protect.
3: Know how much insurance coverage you have.
A basic insurance policy may have a sub-limit that caps jewelry losses as low as $1,000. Is that enough? Work with your preferred renters insurance provider to get the facts on your coverage and the price. If the jewelry is less than $10,000, you can generally have it added to your current policy. For larger pieces, or those with subjective value, a personal articles floater is more appropriate. That’s a separate policy for high-value items that generally covers nearly any peril that is likely to befall a beloved item of jewelry.
4: Winter time, gloves, & lost rings.
Did you ever wonder why more rings are lost in the winter months than in the summer months? No? At Effective Coverage, we’re insurance fanatics, and so we have wondered. It’s because many people wear gloves in winter, and taking them on and off tends to pull those rings off right along with them. Before you know it, you have gone from 3 rings to 2! Would your policy cover this?
5: There is a hole in your pocket.
Pockets are the worst place for jewelry of any kind. How many times have you had some loose change slip out of your pocket? Now imagine how upset you would be if each nickel were a shiny ring. Keep any piece of jewelry that you do not want to lose out of your pocket.
6: So you want to do the dishes.
Ever had a ring stuck on your finger? Did you use soap and water to get it off? That’s the most common way to do it, and very effective. The downside is that soap and water not intended to loosen a ring still has the same effect. At the minimum, you’re looking at an expensive call to a plumber, if you get lucky and the trap does its job. You’ll probably also need to take the ring to be cleaned, considering the other things that tend to get stuck in a kitchen sink trap. Yuck! Avoid the problem altogether by making sure you have a secure place that you put your rings by habit before washing dishes!
Follow these 6 simple steps to keep those Valentine’s Day gifts safe for years to come. If you have any questions on how to protect your valuables, call the folks at Effective Coverage. Renters insurance is traditionally a secondary line of business for agencies – that’s one of the reasons that we exist, to make sure renters have the protection they need. Sometimes that involves more than the basic policy, and we’re here to advise and assist you through the process of protecting the things most important to you.