Best Jewelry Insurance Companies Of 2024 (2024)

If you own fine jewelry, like an engagement ring or a luxury watch, it’s important to protect your pieces with the best jewelry insurance. Standard homeowners insurance policies have limited coverage for theft, and the personal property portion of a home insurance policy may not be sufficient to cover valuable jewelry and all your other belongings.

A stand-alone jewelry insurance policy, like the ones we analyzed below, can be a smart way to fully insure jewelry.

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• The Best Jewelry Insurance Companies
• Summary: Jewelry Insurance Company Ratings
• What Is Jewelry Insurance?
• How Much Does Jewelry Insurance Cost?
• Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Jewelry?
• Types of Jewelry Insurance
• Homeowners Insurance vs. a Stand-Alone Jewelry Insurance Policy
• How to Compare the Best Jewelry Insurance Companies
• Factors That Affect Jewelry Insurance Cost
• How To Get an Appraisal For Jewelry Insurance
• How To Apply For and Update Jewelry Coverage
• Methodology
• Best Jewelry Insurance FAQs

• BriteCo – Best for Replacement Value
  
• Jewelers Mutual – Best for Convenient Features
• Gemshield – Best for Automatic Coverage for New Jewelry

Jewelry insurance is a type of property insurance policy that specifically covers fine jewelry, like rings, necklaces, watches, earrings, and sometimes even loose gemstones. If your insured jewelry gets lost, stolen, or damaged, the insurance company pays to repair or replace the item.

Related: Best Watch Insurance

Jewelry insurance costs about 2% of the coverage amount, based on Forbes Advisor’s analysis. For example, it costs an average of $80 a year to insure a $5,000 piece of jewelry.

Costs generally depend on your location and the coverage amount. The exact jewelry item—such as a necklace vs. a watch—typically does not matter.

Cost of a Stand-Alone Jewelry Insurance Policy

Homeowners insurance covers jewelry under the personal property portion of the policy. However, standard home insurance policies have a special limit for theft: Only $1,500 for jewelry, watches and precious and semi-precious stones.

In addition, the personal property portion of a home insurance policy could be insufficient if you have expensive jewelry. Say you might have $250,000 for personal property coverage. If you have a family heirloom necklace worth $125,000, that one necklace will absorb half of your personal property insurance if there’s a disaster like a fire.

Check your home insurance policy for your current coverage limits. You can raise your personal property insurance amount.

There are two main ways to get more jewelry insurance than what you’ll find in a basic home insurance policy:

• Add a floater to your home insurance policy.
• Buy a stand-alone jewelry insurance policy from a company such as those in our analysis above.

Add a Floater to Homeowners Insurance

A floater is a way to insure jewelry outside the coverage limits of a home insurance policy. By “scheduling” your personal property, such as jewelry, you can insure it for its full value, including for theft. Contact your current home insurance company to schedule jewelry. This is also called an endorsem*nt.

Buy Stand-Alone Jewelry Insurance

A specialized jewelry insurance policy provides the most comprehensive protection for your item. You can insure your piece for its full value, and stand-alone jewelry insurance policies also provide coverage for “mysterious disappearance.” That means you don’t know how or when the item disappeared—a feature you won’t get with home insurance.

In addition, if you have to make a claim on a stand-alone jewelry insurance policy, it won’t affect your home insurance rates. Claims on a home insurance policy can lead to a rate increase at the next renewal time.

Related: Engagement Ring Insurance

To find the best jewelry insurance, compare a few jewelry insurance companies and quotes. Here are some factors to keep in mind.

Cost

The average cost of stand-alone jewelry insurance per year will be about 1% to 2% of the item’s value. Forbes Advisor’s analysis found an average cost of 2% of the item’s value. If your quote is coming in higher, take more time to compare other jewelry insurance quotes.

Deductible

Whether there is a deductible will depend on how you have insured your jewelry. A deductible is the amount deducted from an insurance claim check.

• Under home insurance. If you’re insuring jewelry under your home insurance policy, your policy’s regular deductibles will apply.
• With a home insurance endorsem*nt. If you’re scheduling your jewelry with an endorsem*nt to your home insurance, you can likely choose a $0 deductible if you wish.
• With a stand-alone jewelry insurance policy. Some jewelry insurance policies have a $0 deductible, meaning you won’t have to pay anything toward repairs or replacement if you make a claim. But choosing a higher deductible will result in a lower premium. Insurers such as Gemshield and Jewelers Mutual have a range of deductibles to choose from, which can help you budget the insurance cost.

Coverage Limits

The coverage limit is the highest amount of money the insurance company will pay if you make a claim. This limit is typically based on the appraised value of your piece. For example, BriteCo has a maximum policy limit of $100,000, with exceptions available. MiniCo offers jewelry coverage of $1 million and more.

Appraisals

It’s common for jewelry insurance companies to require an appraisal, which is a document from a professional jeweler or appraiser that verifies the value of your piece.

Not all insurers require appraisals. It’s also smart to get a new appraisal every few years so that your insurance amount continues to match your jewelry’s value. Some jewelry insurers, like BriteCo and Jewelers Mutual, will do an annual inflation adjustment so that your coverage amount doesn’t fall too far behind the actual value of your jewelry.

Exclusions

All jewelry insurance policies have exclusions, or situations that aren’t covered. For example, jewelry insurance likely won’t cover:

• Civil actions, like the police seizing your jewelry.
• Damage due to flaws that were already present in the jewelry.
• Damage during resizing or cleaning.
• Intentional damage or loss.
• War.

Discounts

Some jewelry insurance providers offer discounts. You might be able to save money if you store your jewelry in a safe when you’re not wearing it, or if your home is protected with a security system.

The cost of jewelry insurance depends on several factors. Comparing quotes from a few different insurers can help you find the best jewelry insurance.

• Appraised value. Items with a higher value are more expensive to insure.
• Deductible: If you have a choice of deductibles, choosing a higher deductible will result in a lower premium.
• Security: If you store the jewelry in a home safe or safe deposit box, or if you have a home security system installed, you might pay less for jewelry insurance.
• Your location. Where you live has an effect on rates. For example, our analysis found that it is usually more expensive to insure a piece of jewelry in Palm Beach, Florida, than in Dallas or San Mateo, California.

Look for a professional appraiser in your area. Most jewelry stores are able to appraise pieces. You can also search for a reputable appraiser through organizations like the American Gem Society and National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.

Once you find an appraiser, bring your jewelry and any documentation you have for the item, like the original sales receipt or certifications from the Gemological Institute of America. The appraiser will evaluate your jewelry using specialized equipment. They’ll look for things like the condition and quality of the item, the quality and characteristics of the gemstones and the quality of the setting.

You’ll receive a copy of the report, which will include the current estimated replacement value. This is the amount of coverage you should purchase. Getting your items reappraised every few years is smart, as the value of your jewelry can change.

Many jewelry insurance companies offer online quotes, but in some cases you’ll need to call to get a price. When you’re satisfied with the price and level of coverage, you’ll apply for a policy and pay the premium needed for the coverage to go into effect. (Some policies require paying for the year.)

If you need to change the jewelry coverage level, you can do that online or over the phone with an agent, depending on your insurer.

To find the best jewelry insurance we evaluated companies on these metrics:

Cost (25% of score): We analyzed jewelry insurance costs for coverage of $5,000, $10,000 and $30,000, with a $0 deductible, in Dallas, Palm Beach, Florida, and San Mateo, California. Only insurers that offer online quotes were included in our analysis.

Deductible choices (25% of score): We gave points if an insurer offers choices of deductibles. Deductible choices give you wiggle room to lower your premiums by raising your deductible.

Inflation adjustment available (25% of score): Jewelry insurance companies got points for offering an automatic inflation adjustment, which helps you keep up with inflation without having your jewelry frequently re-appraised.

Special features (25% of score): We awarded points for a variety of special features that set an insurer’s policy apart from others.

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