Homeowners policies have caps, usually between $2,500 and $5,000, on claims for covered losses to valuable items, such as jewelry, furs, silver, guns or collectibles (e.g. sports memorabilia or wine). If you want to insure for amounts more than these caps, you have two options for a Valuable Articles policy:
- Group (Blanket) lower-value items, and insure for the collective total replacement cost (i.e. the Blanket limit) of all of the items. The Blanket limit may be subject to a Maximum Per Item cap, which can range from $10,000 to $50,000. For example: a $50,000 Jewelry Blanket can cover several items, or one single item, with a total replacement cost of $50,000. Blanket coverage is more convenient, since you are not required to add or remove each item.
- Individually itemize (Schedule) the items. This method is appropriate for higher-value items, such as those that would exceed the Maximum Per Item cap of a Blanket (see above.) Scheduled coverage is less convenient, but a “must” for high-value items, and also clarifies which items are being insured
The Homeowners deductible does NOT apply to Valuable Articles policies. Because of the additional coverages afforded to itemized or blanketed pieces, there is an additional premium charged. The approximate premium rate is 2% on jewelry and 1% on fine arts. Jewelry Items kept in a safe deposit box at a bank have a significantly lower insurance premium rate. You will be limited to the number of times per year that you can remove the item(s) from the bank, and we must be notified each time for coverages to be in effect. Please note that this is a basic explanation of coverages, exclusions and limits. Please read your entire policy for a complete explanation. Remember that our philosophy is that insurance is to protect you from catastrophic losses, not the smaller claims that you can financially handle yourself.
Click here to read Chubb’s helpful additional information on Valuable Articles coverage.
