Risk & Business Magazine Marcotte The Magazine - Winter 2018 | Page 27

PERSONAL PROPERTY
T
he holiday season is upon
us and Valentine’s Day is
approaching. As you consider
gifts for those near and dear
to you, or if you are the happy
recipient of a valuable gift, you should
consider the proper way to insure your
personal property. or guns. Many insurance companies
allow clients to schedule various types
of property on a rider. Ask your agent
which personal property categories can be
scheduled with your insurance company.
Many people schedule sporting equipment,
wine collections, musical instruments, and
furs, in addition to those mentioned above.
JEWELRY
Did you know most homeowners policies
do not provide adequate coverage for
jewelry? The policy has a maximum—and
often low—limit to cover jewelry pieces
that are stolen. Homeowners policies may
not cover lost pieces at all. Even if a claim
is covered, the homeowners deductible
will apply. This means that for a lost or
stolen piece of jewelry that cost thousands
of dollars, submitting a claim under your
homeowners policy will potentially leave
you sorely disappointed and quite possibly
at a financial loss. SCHEDULING VALUABLES
To schedule an item, you can provide your
agent with an appraisal which will show a
detailed description of the piece as well as
a value. By providing the appraisal, your
agent can have documentation on hand if
it is needed in the event of a claim. Note,
the insurance company may not require an
appraisal for some types of property.
Consider scheduling your jewelry under
a separate policy, often referred to as
a rider, to provide better insurance
protection. By doing so, more types of
claims are covered—such as “Mysterious
Disappearance”—and claims are usually
not subject to a deductible at all.
FINE ART AND COLLECTIBLES
Homeowners policies may not provide
breakage coverage for statuary, marble,
porcelains, and other fragile types of
property. Consider a sculpture or a china
cabinet that tips. You can add coverage for
breakage, and automatically add coverage
for other types of claims, by scheduling
your collectibles and fine art pieces.
Extensive collections or artistic items of
value are best insured under a Fine Art
rider for many reasons. In the event of a
catastrophic claim to your home due to
robbery, vandalism, tornado, or fire, the
entirety of the collection can be insured
without a deductible applying to the claim.
You would also have an inventory of your
collection with detailed descriptions and
insurance values for each piece.
OTHER TYPES OF PERSONAL
PROPERTY
The standard homeowners policy limits
coverage for other types of personal
property you may own, such as silverware
The cost to insure jewelry will be different
from the cost to insure a fine art piece.
Each category has a different insurance
rate.
Contact your agent to discuss costs and
specifics about the personal property you
would like to insure.
BY: AMY AUST CISR
SERVICE TEAM LEADER
PERSONAL LINES
Amy Aust has been a Personal Insurance service
superstar for more than a dozen years. As
Marcotte’s Personal Lines Service Team Leader
she enjoys working with clients to design superior
protection programs for home, auto, umbrella
and more. Amy enjoys developing long-term
relationships with clients as their needs and
exposures change over time. She takes the time
to understand each person’s unique situation
before making coverage recommendations.
Amy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Iowa and holds the Certified
Insurance Service Representative (CISR)
designation.
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