Jewellery Home Insurance Claims Rise
Published: 31 August 2011 By Peter Thompson Leave a Comment
Home insurance claims for jewellery theft now account for a significant proportion of theft claims, perhaps due to rising gold prices and the ease of selling gold but is your jewellery value up to date?
According to Churchill home insurance data, the number of home theft claims increased by 14% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2009. What’s more jewellery now accounts for a third of theft claims.
Gold prices have risen significantly over the last couple of years and this has coincided with the prominence of ‘cash for gold’ services, which could make it easier for thieves to sell on stolen jewellery.
The average gold price has climbed to £972.5 per troy ounce in July 2011, compared with £327.64 back in July 2006, an increase of nearly 200 per cent in just five years*.
Within a home insurance policy there will be a single item maximum value amount. This is the maximum claim amount that can be made for a single item.
Jewellery is something which people need to assess the value of to ensure the limit on their policy is sufficient.
With such a significant rise in gold prices though it may be well be that jewellery items that were previously valued under this amount may now be worth more. Unless the values are updated and the policy checked, homeowners could therefore find they are underinsured.
Homeowners are therefore encouraged to make sure that they have an accurate, up to date valuation of their jewellery and this is reflected in their home insurance policy.
Ian Davies, head of underwriting at Churchill Home Insurance, said: “If you have any items of a high value, ensure these are listed on your home insurance policy as an additional item. Remember to take photos of any items of particular value and to keep the receipts on file in the event of making a claim.”
MoneyHighStreet comments: “The issue of being underinsured is a significant issue and you need to be proactive and ensure you properly assess your valuables, including jewellery but also such as art and antique collections.
Be aware though it may not just be the value of items you have purchased yourself.
As the years pass, we inherit many valuable items from friends and relatives. But as we add items to our inheritance, it’s all to easy not to get them properly valued and to get a home insurance policy updated accordingly.
