TAKING Stock
Q: I RECEIVED an inheritance of several pieces of valuable jewellery from my grandmother who lived overseas before she passed away.
I want to know the best way to go about insuring and storing them safely – is there anything in particular I should know about?
Short-term insurance adviser Luzanne Wait responds:
The first step is to get a valuation certificate from a professional jeweller, who must be approved to provide such documentation.
This proves you own the item as well as what it is worth.
The next step is to inform your broker or insurer about the item/s so that appropriate insurance can be put in place.
Depending on your insurer, items under a certain value may not require a valuation certificate, so it is advisable to find out if you will need one.
It is then important to specify the item under “All Risk”, with the value attached to it. This means you are generally covered at all times, anywhere.
But insurers also have requirements when it comes to specifying items, so it is best to check that too.
Should your item warrant a valuation for insurance purposes, you will either submit the valuation certificate to get cover, or it will only be required at claim stage.
However, the valuation must have been done prior to the incident to be considered valid.
It would be worthwhile to have your item revalued on an annual basis to make sure you are covered sufficiently, just as you would review your contents cover as items can fluctuate in value over time.
Keeping valuations in foreign currency could really cost you should you need to claim. The exchange rate could easily erode the value.
Make sure any valuations are done in rands to provide adequate cover.
An option is often a home safe for storage of valuable items.
These have to comply with your insurer’s requirements – for example that it must be bolted fast and therefore not movable – as well as other conditions that will depend on your insurer. Another option – if you wear an item infrequently – would be to consider a safety deposit box at your bank.
It is your responsibility, however, to make sure your insurance extends to cover the item if it is stored as such.