When is jewelry covered by homeowners insurance?
When jewelry is lost or damaged because of a covered peril, such as theft or fire, it is covered by your homeowners insurance.For example, if your home is burglarized while you’re away on vacation and thieves steal a necklace that has been in your family for generations, your policy will cover part of its value — up to a maximum limit defined by your specific policy.
Common covered insurance perils
- Theft
- Lightning or fire
- Hail or windstorm
- Damage caused by aircraft
- Explosions
- Riots or civil disturbances
- Smoke damage
- Damage caused by vehicles
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
- Volcanic eruption
- Damage from the weight of snow, ice or sleet
- Water damage from plumbing, heating or air conditioning overflow
- Water heater cracking, tearing and burning
- Damage from electrical current
- Pipe freezing
Your jewelry is likely not covered by homeowners insurance if the loss or damage is a result of a peril not listed above.For instance, if your ring slips off your finger and falls down the drain while you’re cleaning, it won’t be covered by your insurance policy because the loss isn’t a result of a peril explicitly listed in your policy. Likewise, misplacing a piece of jewelry or damaging it somehow — even by accident — won’t be covered by your homeowners insurance.
Additionally, if jewelry is lost or damaged in a flood, you will need a separate flood insurance policy since a standard homeowners policy does not cover damage or loss associated with a natural flood.
How much jewelry does a home insurance policy cover?
While your homeowners insurance might provide you with, for example, $400,000 of coverage, you can’t simply apply all of that to your jewelry. Most policies provide personal property coverage of around 50% of the total insurance coverage.
However, jewelry is considered high-value property that can be easily lost or stolen, so coverage limits are usually specified in your policy — often between $1,000 and $2,000.For example, if you own a $15,000 diamond engagement ring, your home insurance would only provide coverage up to the first $1,000 to $2,000 of value. In most cases, that coverage doesn’t offer very much protection for more than one or two pieces of jewelry, especially if some pieces of jewelry are particularly valuable or you have a large collection.