Jewelry Insurance: Do You Need Separate Coverage? (2025)

My coworker lost her engagement ring at the gym last year. Took it off to lift weights, put it in her bag, and somewhere between the locker room and her car it disappeared. $8,000 ring. Gone.

She had homeowners insurance insurance. Thought jewelry was covered. It is—technically. But homeowners policies have sublimits on jewelry. Hers was $1,500 total. For all jewelry. Not per item. Total.

So she got $1,500 for an $8,000 ring. The other $6,500? Just gone.

This is one of those homeowners policy gaps that surprises people constantly. Yes, your policy covers jewelry. No, it probably doesn’t cover your expensive jewelry adequately.

The sublimit problem

Most homeowners and renters policies have special sublimits for certain categories of valuables. Jewelry is usually capped at $1,000-2,500 total. Not per item. For everything. All your jewelry combined.

Got a $5,000 engagement ring and a $2,000 watch? Your combined value is $7,000 but coverage maxes at $2,000 or whatever your sublimit is.

This exists because jewelry is high-value, easily lost or stolen, and expensive to insure adequately. Insurance companies limit their exposure through sublimits.

Check your declarations page. There’s a line somewhere about jewelry coverage limits. If your jewelry exceeds that limit, you need additional coverage.

Scheduled personal property (floater)

The solution is to “schedule” valuable jewelry separately on your policy. This is called a floater or rider or scheduled personal property endorsement depending on who you ask.

You list specific items with their appraised values. Each item is insured for that specific amount. Usually requires recent appraisal—within 2-3 years.

Benefits: Full coverage for actual value. Often covers more perils than standard policy. Usually no deductible. Covers the item anywhere, not just in your home.

The gym ring loss? If she’d had it scheduled, full $8,000 covered regardless of where it was lost.

Standalone jewelry insurance

Alternative to scheduling on homeowners is standalone jewelry insurance from specialty companies. Jewelers Mutual is the big one. Also some newer companies like BriteCo.

Sometimes cheaper than scheduling through homeowners. Sometimes has better coverage terms. Worth comparing.

Some advantages: might include free resizing, repair coverage, automatic appreciation coverage that increases value over time without new appraisals.

What it costs

Usually 1-2% of the item’s value per year. $10,000 ring might cost $100-200/year to insure. Not nothing but not crazy for full coverage on something that expensive.

Cost depends on where you live (higher theft areas cost more), the security of your home, and what exactly you’re insuring.

Getting an appraisal

You need documentation of what your jewelry is worth. Options:

Original purchase receipt and certification if you have them.

Professional appraisal from a certified appraiser—usually costs $50-150.

Some insurers accept detailed photos plus documentation as alternative to formal appraisal.

Re-appraisals every few years are smart because jewelry values change. Diamonds have appreciated significantly. Gold fluctuates. Your $5,000 ring might be worth $7,000 now.

What’s covered

Scheduled jewelry coverage is typically “all risk” meaning almost anything is covered. Theft. Loss (including mysterious disappearance—you have no idea where it went). Damage. Accidental loss like my coworker’s gym situation.

Regular homeowners might not cover mysterious disappearance. If you can’t prove it was stolen (like with a police report), claim might be denied. Scheduled coverage usually does cover it.

My coworker now

She replaced the ring eventually—took a while financially—and immediately scheduled the new one on her homeowners policy. Costs her about $120/year extra. Worth it for knowing that if she loses it again, she actually gets the money to replace it.

Comprehensive keeps trying to eat my earrings when I leave them on the bathroom counter—chicken thing I guess—but the point is if you have jewelry worth more than your sublimit (probably $1,500-2,500), you’re underinsured. Schedule it or get standalone coverage. The cost is small compared to the risk.