Jewellery and valuables insurance

The contents of your home may be more valuable than you think. If you have home contents cover already, check through your documents for the limits of your cover. You may find there's a limit for valuables that’s separate to your limit for contents.

It's also quite likely that there’ll be a limit on the amount your insurer will pay out for any one item. We call this the ‘single item limit’.

Pay particular attention to jewellery, artwork and high value tech. Remember to calculate an item's replacement value, not its second-hand value. Most insurance companies provide new for old cover, so any item that's lost or damaged will be repaired or replaced as new.

Of course, for sentimental valuable items, like family heirlooms and jewellery gifted to you by family or friends, it's not always possible to replace the exact item. In this instance the insurer may offer a cash settlement instead.

Cover explained

• With Allianz Online contents insurance, you're covered up to £50,000 with our Bronze level of cover, up to £100,000 with Silver and up to £150,000 with Gold.
• Within your contents cover, your valuables, like with jewellery, are covered for up to £10,000 with our Bronze level of cover, up to £20,000 with Silver and up to £30,000 with Gold.
• You'll have a single item limit of £2,000, meaning anything worth more than this amount will have to be specifically listed under your contents cover when you set up your policy.
• You'll also have the option to cover valuable items away from the home. This would be things like jewellery, watches and handbags that you'd ordinarily take outside the home.
• Cover away from the home (also known as personal belongings cover) is included with our Gold cover level for up to £2,000, but this can be increased. You can add this cover to a Silver or Bronze policy.
• Any items needing cover away from the home that are worth more than £2,000 will need to be listed as a specified item for cover away from the home.
• Your jewellery and valuables will be covered for theft or attempted theft, fire, floor, or impact. Accidental damage or loss can be covered if you've added cover away from home or personal belongings cover.

Good question! The value of gold and other precious metals varies greatly. In recent years, the price of gold has gone up considerably. So it’s worth getting your items valued on a regular basis.

A good place to start is the Institute of Registered Valuers, the UK's leading association of jewellery valuers. They can help you find a registered valuer in your area.

After valuation, you may find the cost of replacing a cherished piece of jewellery may exceed the single item limit. This could leave you out of pocket.

What is the 'single item limit'?

A single item limit is the maximum amount that an insurer will pay out for any one item. Our Allianz Online Home Insurance policy limit is £2,000. So, any valuable in your home that's worth £2,000 or less will be covered by your home contents insurance with us.

If you have individual valuables worth over £2,000, then you need to increase your insurance to make sure you're covered. If you don't tell us about these items and you want to make a claim, the maximum we'll pay out is £2,000.

• Don't get caught out! Tell us about your valuable items so we can list them on your policy. They probably won't cost you much extra to insure.
  

We've lost count of the number of newlyweds who've lost precious wedding or engagement rings. Most of them were able to claim for a replacement on their home insurance. But beware, not all policies will cover your personal belongings outside of the home.

You'll probably need to take out additional cover to make sure your valuables are insured when you're out and about. And you should check if there's a single item limit on this type of insurance too. With Allianz Online Home Insurance you can add optional personal belongings insurance for items worth £2,000 or less. Any item worth more than this can be specified on the policy.

A watch is covered in the home under the valuables section which is part of the overall contents cover. Your valuables, like jewellery and watches, are covered for up to £10,000 with our Bronze level of cover, up to £20,000 with Silver and up to £30,000 with Gold. On all cover levels there's a single item limit of £2,000, meaning a watch costing more than this will need to be listed under your contents cover, so just let us know.

If you'd like to add personal belongings cover to insure your watch away from the home, as well as accidental damage, loss or theft, you can add 'cover away from the home' (personal belongings). 

We know it's hard to put a true value on things you love, but the best way to work out the cost of your valuable items is to make a list of everything in your home that falls within the 'valuables' definition of your policy. Things like watches, jewellery, art and more. 

Remember, for most contents, cover is new for old, so all items should be insured for their full replacement cost. This doesn't include clothing which is subject to deduction for wear and tear. 

So, take this into account when looking at the total value of your valuables. If the valuation is too low or totally wrong and you look to make a claim, it could mean you don't have enough to replace all your valuables should the worst happen and there be for example a total loss. This means that in a claim event, the policy may end up voided and cancelled. This is also something to bear in mind at each renewal. Also your sum insured won't take into account any new items that you've purchased or the value of certain items going up.