We’re not going to sugar coat it… Planning a wedding can be an expensive experience, so wedding ring insurance is vital to keep yourself protected. It’s crucial not to rely on your warranty when buying a wedding ring. Jewelry insurance will cover you for incidents a warranty won't. Once you’ve chosen your perfect wedding band and engagement ring, you’ll need to take a number of steps to ensure they are kept safe from damage, loss or theft.

Before insuring an engagement or wedding ring

Before you even begin to shop for a reliable wedding ring insurer, you’ll need to ascertain the following information:

￭ The exact value of the ring​

￭ Evidence of purchase including the date of purchase

￭ The location at which the ring will spend most of its time (for example, your residence)

￭ Whether or not the ring requires an independent appraisal before being insured. For example, if your ring is second hand, or a family heirloom, you will need it to be independently appraised (with evidence for the insurer).​

￭ How much you realistically want to spend on monthly premiums, and whether you’d prefer monthly or annual premiums.

Insurance for Wedding and Engagement Rings

We are all accustomed to insuring valuable items including our houses and cars, but it is easy to forget about wedding jewelry. Shockingly, the combined cost of wedding jewelry could in some cases be similar to a small car. In fact, the average cost of an engagement ring in 2018 was $7,829.

Rings can be considered a high-risk item. As rings are worn on the fingers, they are at risk of knocks, accidents, loss and theft. They are regularly taken out of the house and are easy to steal given their small size and portability. Although you would hope never to claim, insuring your rings is a sensible choice that offers peace of mind. Here are a few statistics to show you how important ring insurance is:

￭ Between 2017 and 2018 there was an 81.6% increase in ‘smash and grab’ jewelry thefts from residential properties or cars. So, if you leave your ring in your handbag in full view, you’ll be distressed if your handbag is stolen.

￭ 66.4% of residential jewelry burglaries take place in less than 3 minutes.

￭ 4 in 10 married men lose their wedding band.

￭ Most men who lose their wedding band lose it at the gym or other leisure facilities. The second most common scene of loss is the home, and the third is at work.

￭ Gold wedding bands can be easily scratched during everyday activities and work. Platinum bands will not scratch as they are much harder.​

￭ An engagement ring with a stone supported by prongs will be prone to the prongs loosening over time, which can mean you lose your stone during an everyday activity without even noticing.

Given these statistics, we’d like to remind you to do the following:

￭ Take off your wedding band or engagement ring when engaging in activities that might cause it damage, such as high-impact sports, household cleaning or certain work activities.

￭ Never leave your wedding band or engagement ring in a handbag or gym bag, as it could be stolen. As leisure centers are the primary place men lose their rings, it’s important to leave the ring at home prior to leaving for the gym.

￭ When removing your wedding ring, be careful to place it in a box or secure place so that it does not get misplaced. Some people like to put ring dishes around the house so that they can find somewhere safe to place the ring no matter which room they are in.

￭ Check any prongs on the ring regularly. If they are starting to loosen, your ring is at risk of damage.​

￭ Be careful when swimming. The cold water can reduce the size of your fingers by a small fraction but this is sometimes enough for a wedding band or engagement band to fall off.

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Why Specialist Jewelry Insurance?

Jewelry, and particularly wedding jewelry, has a high sentimental value. Although you’ll both want to take good care of your rings, having insurance can allow you to enjoy your rings without feeling anxious about losing or damaging them.

It can be tempting to rely on your household insurance, but if you should ever need to make a claim you may find yourself sorely disappointed. Reading the small print is important; many household insurance policies will only cover jewelry to an average of $1,000-2000, which is fine if that’s what you spent, but might not cover you in full if you dished out a little more. Specific insurance should cover the true value of your rings.

What Cover Do I Need?

When choosing an insurance provider or policy, you’ll want to be sure about what is covered. The best policies should offer cover for accidental loss, damage, or theft. It is important to also have cover for mysterious disappearance. This is a situation in which you are unsure if the rings have been stolen or misplaced.

Rather than having a blanket policy for all of your jewelry, expensive items such as wedding or engagement rings should be insured separately based on an appraisal report. This takes each ring’s characteristics into account to provide an accurate monetary value for appropriate insurance cover.

Speak to your insurance provider about what they will offer you in the event of damage or loss. Will they replace the ring to its full value should it become lost, and will they pay the full cost of repairs for a damaged ring? You may also want to ask how flexible your policy is when adding more jewelry to it. In the future, you might want to insure an eternity ring which can symbolize many years together in marriage. If you do decide to go down this route, adding a ring to your policy should be simple.

Insurance Away From Home

Once married, you’ll want to show your rings off every day, so make sure that your insurance policy covers your rings being taken out of the home!

If you travel frequently for business or pleasure, be sure that your rings are covered when taking them abroad. If the standard cover doesn’t offer this, be sure to add it on or look for a different provider.

How Much Should I Budget for Insurance?

You can expect to pay around 1-2% of the value of your rings to insure them each year. The cost may vary depending on how often you wear your rings and where you live. If you live in an area with higher rates of theft, for example, your insurance costs could be slightly higher. You may be able to reduce the cost of insurance if you have a home security system or store your rings in a safe when left at home. You should make sure that your premiums are up-to-date at all times. A missed premium could be the difference between making a claim and the entire claim being void. Insurers can be very picky when it comes to payouts, so ensure that you have followed all of their instructions and read the fine print on any terms and conditions.

Paperwork

Once you have purchased your rings, set up insurance straight away. It may be a few months until you say ‘I do’, and the last thing you want is to lose the rings before the big day. Keep all of your paperwork in a safe place. Gem certificates, grading reports, receipts, photographs and the insurance documents should all be filed away in case you should need them. If your ring is second hand, you’ll need to obtain as much paperwork as possible from its original owner. If you later find a ring after claiming for mysterious disappearance, remember to inform the insurance company. Failure to do so is insurance fraud.

Summary

Specialist jewelry insurance for your wedding and engagement rings will give both you and your partner the confidence to enjoy your new jewelry as you begin your lives together. An appraisal service ensures your jewelry is properly valued so that if it should ever be lost, stolen or damaged, your insurer will provide the finances required for you to replace or repair it. Whatever you do, don’t wait for your ring to be lost or damaged before signing up for jewelry insurance as it will not be valid to cover the claim. Proactively insuring your rings gives you peace of mind and the security you deserve.

And here’s some great news. When you purchase a ring from us, you get lifetime warranty. This covers defects in material or workmanship starting from the date of purchase. Unfortunately, it does not cover damage from accidents, lack of care or wear and tear which is why ring insurance is so vital to have alongside this warranty.

Questions about ring bands or wedding ring insurance? Get in touch with us today.