Coverage for Jewelry Watches and Furs is limited on the Texas Homeowners policy. Most standard policies only cover $500.00 for the Theft of these items.
If the entire house burns down, all your items are covered subject to the terms of the policy like contents limits. However, for Theft Only you should purchase additional coverage if you have lots of jewelry, expensive watches or even furs. You can extend or endorse your coverage to up to $5,000.00 for the theft of these items stolen from your home.
If you have one piece of jewelry you are particularly concerned about, you might want to look into a Jewelry Floater. A Jewelry Floater covers one specific piece of jewelry, for example, a wedding ring. The advantage of a floater is the coverage is All Risk of physical loss. So if you lose a stone, break a clasp or drop it down the sink, the policy will cover that item for the amount it is insured for.
Home Insurance, even with the added coverage for theft still only covers the perils that the Home Insurance policy specifies, like Fire, Lightning, Theft and the likes. Your home insurance alone will not cover loosing the diamond in your wedding ring but a Jewelry Floater would.
In addition to securing the right coverage for your situation, have your high valued jewelry appraised at least every two years. Usually the jeweler you purchased from will update their appraisals as a courtesy. Also keep these documents in a safe fire proof box or off your homes site. In the event of a loss, pictures of the items are also very useful to claims adjusters.
As always, it is our pleasure to be a resource for you if you have questions about properly insuring high valued jewelry. Let us know how we can help you. Call Paula Smith Insurance at (281) 488-8880 with any and all of your insurance needs.