Let us all admit that life is busy these days. People must plan their daily activities to finish the office, home, family, and other priorities. If you find something important but do not prioritize it, it will likely be left behind. One important item that often falls outside of the priority list is the valuation of the different types of assets you own. Even among all these things, jewelry falls in the last queue. In many homes, jewelry often sits comfortably in jewelry boxes or lockers and is rarely valued.
But you don’t know that unappraised jewelry can cost you thousands of dollars. This article is perfect for you if you’re new to this and don’t know anything about it. In the next paragraphs, we will discuss the potential issues you may face if your jewelry valuation is not done on time.
Why Your Jewelry Isn’t Fully Protected Without an Appraisal
Many people have no idea about insurance and jewelry appraisal in nyc and often assume that it is the person’s responsibility, be it the homeowner’s or the renter’s insurance, that will automatically cover the total worth of the jewelry that is owned. And yes, this is not a wrong assumption. Most of the times it is covered, but by an extremely less amount. If you own more than that, you probably won’t get it. Here, having the professional jewelry valuation done helps you in the long run, especially in such circumstances.
If you have not got the professional jewelry appraisal for insurance, usually, the policy may only pay a fraction of the total worth of your jewelry. What’s worse is that the insurance companies usually require proper official documentation when it comes to getting the insurance done.
The only clear picture that gets created here is that, if you can’t prove what your jewelry is worth, there are high chances you won’t get the insurance for your jewelry, and even if you have the valuation documents, if they’re not up to date, there are high chances that they will eventually fail.
The Hidden Costs You Don’t See Coming
You’ll Be Paid the Bare Minimum
If you are someone who owns expensive jewelry, be it gold, diamonds, or platinum, the chances are that it might be of very high value. For example, if you own jewelry worth $12,000 and lose it due to negligence or a robbery, you will face significant financial loss. Now, what is the first thing that you think of when you happen to lose an item of such worth? If you don’t have insurance, you won’t get anything, no matter how bad the loss. Suppose you had an outdated appraisal for your jewelry. In such a situation, your insurer might only pay the standard sub-limit—often between $1,000 and $2,500. That simply means that you are supposed to pay the remaining $9,500 on your own merely because you did not have an updated valuation.
That’s not unlucky—that’s under-documented.
Your Claim Can Be Delayed or Denied
You lost a piece of jewelry, and this is something that you know. But when you want compensation, you need to prove this to the insurance company, and nothing in the real world can be proved without proper documentation of all the stuff. To obtain this documentation, you must gather several details and complete the insurance process. A few required details are listed below; without these details, you will not receive the full claim or may only receive a partial one.
If you don’t have:
- A detailed description
- Clear photographs
- Stone grading and metal details
- A replacement value
Replacement Value Is Higher Than You Think
Many people don’t know that jewelry is insured based on replacement cost, not the price you paid. With the passage of time, the worth of gold, platinum, and diamonds rises, and this leads to the increase in the worth of jewelry too.
Summing Up
To sum up, there are a number of losses that you can face if the jewelry appraisal in nyc is not done in time. Initially it may appear that you are saving by not paying for your insurance, but in the long run you might face absolute losses and end up paying much more than what you could have paid for getting the appraisal done.
