Diamond Insurance - Know Your Basics
When you buy an expensive car, for example, you wouldn't think twice about insuring it, so why should a diamond be any different? Insuring your diamond piece of jewelry guarantees that it remains safe in terms of theft, loss or other misfortunes that may occur.
Insurance policies available today offer three basic kind of insurance which are Actual Cash Value, Replacement Value and Agreed Value.
However, before deciding which insurance coverage is most suitable for your needs, it is extremely important to familiarize yourself with these different policies and what they have to offer.
The most common insurance policy used today is called Replacement Value Coverage.
Although it is the most popular, that does not mean that it is the best choice for you.
As its name suggests, this particular policy is actually based on proclaiming a fixed replacement monetary value, ahead of time, that would be used in case of diamond misplacement.
Nonetheless, the insurance company is not held liable for paying the entire figure stated in their policy.
Instead, they could turn to the preferred diamond jeweler of their choice, who could provide them with a replacement item at a much lower cost than the fixed replacement value stated in the coverage.
Therefore it is extremely important to individually turn to a third party appraiser who could confirm that the replacement item given to you is indeed on par in terms of quality and value when compared to your original misplaced diamond jewelry.
In sharp contrast to Replacement Value Coverage, which is based on providing a fixed monetary value, Actual Cash Value (often abbreviated as ACV) works entirely different.
This certain policy states that in the event of misplacing diamond jewelry or alternatively in the event that it was damaged beyond repair, the insurance company will provide the actual current evaluated price of your diamond.
The way this value is calculated varies from one insurance company to the next, but they all rely on the current diamond market exchange rates.
The disadvantage about this particular policy is the fact that it does not take into consideration whatsoever the amount originally paid by the customer, but rather what it is worth in today's terms.
With all things considered, many believe that ACV policy has not fulfilled its full potential in terms of popularity when it comes to insuring diamonds.
But the most ideal coverage of all is certainly the Agreed Value policy.
This coverage is based on a monetary agreement reached between both sides (the insurance company and the client himself) in terms of the diamond's value.
The insurance company is then completely liable to provide the full and exact figure agreed upon with the policy holder.
Therefore, every policy is individual in its own right, and most importantly the fact that the value is already known in advance means that there is no room for surprises in the future, if indeed an unfortunate event may occur.
In reality, most insurance companies won't even offer this type of coverage to begin with seeing as it is so ideal and non-profitable from their point of view.
However, even in the event that an Agreed Value policy is offered, the policy holder will understandably need to pay a higher premium rate in exchange for it.
The three basic policy types offered for coverage of diamond jewelry are all very different from one another.
Most will agree that the recommended insurance coverage to go with is undoubtedly the Agreed Value policy.
However, in case such optimal insurance could not be obtained, then the Actual Cash Value insurance should be the next policy of choice.
Although Replacement Value Coverage is the most popular, it is often considered the least desirable policy to have.
Whichever diamond insurance policy is chosen, all three will also take into consideration not only the monetary value assigned to your diamond, but also the area in which reside in.
If you live in a rundown neighborhood or one that suffers from a high crime rate, you could expect to pay a much higher premium for your diamond insurance, as with any other type of insurance.
However, having your diamond jewelry is definitely an important measure you should consider taking to protect your investment.