Is jewelry covered under homeowners insurance?
The short answer is yes — a standard HO-3 homeowners insurance policy covers jewelry under specific circumstances, up to certain limits.
Jewelry is included in the personal property coverage provided by your homeowners insurance. Personal property coverage is typically limited to 50% to 70% of the amount for which your home’s structure is insured, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But jewelry and other valuables comprise a special category of personal property that’s subject to sublimits.
Sublimits for jewelry and other valuables have two parts. First is a combined coverage limit for the category of property, such as a $1,500 limit on jewelry. The second part limits coverage on each individual item within that category.
For Example
Say your policy limits coverage to $250 per piece of jewelry, and four pieces, each worth $250, are stolen. The entire collection would be covered, minus your deductible. If, on the other hand, each of the four pieces is worth $1,000, you’ll be covered for just $1,500 (the combined coverage limit), minus your deductible, on a $4,000 loss.
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Does homeowners insurance cover lost jewelry?
Homeowners insurance might cover jewelry lost under certain circumstances. If the personal property portion of your policy provides named-perils coverage, which is typical, you’re only insured against the specific perils named in the policy.[1]
Say the diamond in your engagement ring falls out or your wedding ring slips off while you’re swimming, and you’re unable to find it. The loss will be covered under a named-perils policy only if “mysterious disappearance” — an unexplained loss — is one of the perils named in the policy.
If, on the other hand, the ring goes missing during a house fire or the destruction of your home from a windstorm, the loss would be covered. Fire and wind are named perils, so losses resulting from either are covered.[2]
Does homeowners insurance cover damaged jewelry?
Homeowners insurance covers damaged jewelry if the damage results from a named peril. If your dog gets hold of a bracelet and chews it to pieces, the damage won’t be covered because a standard policy doesn’t name pet damage as a peril.
Lightning, on the other hand, is a named peril. If a lightning strike splits a tree in half and causes it to fall through your roof, crushing your jewelry box and mangling your bracelet, your insurance would cover it.
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Does homeowners insurance cover stolen jewelry?
Theft is a named peril, so your homeowners insurance does cover stolen jewelry, up to the policy sublimits. And it doesn’t matter where you are when the theft happens.
Take a stolen necklace as an example. It’s covered whether thieves steal it from your jewelry box during a home invasion or yank it from your neck while you’re walking down the street.