Three reasons she experienced a loss

A very casual "and what do you do?" conversation with a stranger earlier this week turned into a serious discussion - and quite educational for the others at the table. When learning that we provide personal property inventory services, she stated, "I wish I knew you 2 years ago!"

She was burglarized, and experienced a huge financial loss. There are 3 reasons for her loss. First, the inability to remember everything that was missing/stolen. Second, she didn't realize that there is a jewelry limit in all insurance policies. Her policy's limit was $1000, which means that the most she received on jewelry not covered on a rider was $1000. And third, the value of her gold jewelry that WAS appraised had increased by over 50% since the last appraisal years ago.

So, what does that mean? The price of gold has been climbing for quite some time, and her appraised value was less than 1/2 of what her jewelry was worth. Therefore, she her insurance claim provided less than 1/2 of what she needed to replace it, resulting in either a huge out-of-pocket expense or just do without.

The Insurance Institute of America recommends having your jewelry appraisals updated every two years. When is the last time you had yours appraised? It's worth the time and money to do this. You'll be happy you did if you experience a burglary, fire or natural disaster.

Remember, the responsibility to prove ownership and value is on you, the policyholder.