Hi guys
Quick question - when you insure your watches do you specify full RRP as insurance value at all, or what you could get one for as an example pre-owned?
Also does anyone have any good companies they can recommend for watches as Halifax have refused to insure by Big Bang and my Breguet and I am left uninsured currently :(
insuring watches, not sure about companies, as mine's through my house insurance, new for old policy.
But just in case the worst was to happen, I got Goldsmith's to write out a signed & dated 'new replacement cost' certificate (called something like that can't recall actual title). Which basically says, yes we've seen it, yes it is real yes he does own it & YES that's how much a new one is.
Which I get redone annually to keep everything up to date.
Hiscox.Originally Posted by ryanb741
As you can see, this is a much-discussed question.
http://forum.tz-uk.com/search.php?searchid=402092
Hiscox though they will charge, or look for brokers who cover mid to high net worth, or buy a safe
If your policy is a bog standard new for old (like 99% of policies) you need to insure for the amount it would costs the insurance company to replace the item - for items currently available that should be the RRP, for items no longer available it should the approx value to purchase from a dealer. Neither figure should include any haggling discounts and it makes sense to actually specify slightly more to take into account any price rises that may occur during the insurance period.
You can of course go with an "agreed amount" when taking the policy out - but not every insurance company will offer this. You simply specify the amount of cash you want if the item is lost / damaged and that is what they will pay out. The cost of that cover will depend on what the item is worth (therefore likelihood of loss) and the sum assured - note you can insure for more or less than the actual worth. This type of cover is normally reserved for very rare items where it would be difficult to find an exact replacement ... so not approriate for for most watches.
Where things get a little stickier is when a model has been superceded by a newer model but you would want the replacement item to be the original model - for example a 16600 seadweller where the insurer would want to replace with the current model DSSD. In these cases you'd need to discuss with the claims handler and be very specific when you listed the item (model number / serial number etc) as most insurance companies aren't going to want to a) hunt around for a specific model b) have to pay out in cash as they'd rather give jewellers vouchers.
In some respects you might have to consider moving away from insurers that compete on price and to ones that compete on cover and service as these are more likely to cover higher value single items, high overall valuables limits and be happy with agreed amount. A starting point would be Hiscox, Chubb UK, NFU, AON or try a high value broker such as Flint Insurance.
Had mine valued on current RRP's with certificates required. Policy is new for old so today's price is irrelevant if I get robbed after a number of price hikes. Policy is with John Lewis which was really good value, compared to our old provider.
Link is dead.. anyone have a correct link?
It's just the search results for 'hiscox'.
Cheers bud
Mine is also covered by home insurance and is "like for like". Last we where burgled and my Tag Carrera was stolen as it was discontinued insurers replaced it with the current model closet in specification to the one I had.
How much do Goldsmiths charge for that service?
It's worth keeping an eye on the like-for-like / replacement values of your watches, at least annually, and probably every six months. Many insurance policies have High Value Item clauses, often above £2k, £2.5k or £3k. If your item is above that threshold, they may need to be reported separately, or even stored in a safe. Replacement costs can quite quickly creep over these thresholds without you noticing, and in the event of loss / theft, the worst case could be that the insurance company refuses to cover you.
Another vote for Hiscox here. They may not be the cheapest, but the process of taking out a policy is pretty hassle free.
free of charge
Just changed my household policy to M&S premier - £50k of cover for watches/valuables over £1.5k - didn't have to list them all as with my previous insurer but I think I'd have to prove what I had via the receipts/valuation certificates I have.
House and contents came in at a couple of hundred more than my last insurance (Barclays) who wouldn't insure the watches once the collection went over £30k (new for old)
Liverpool and Victoria came in pretty competative - I just went with M&S as they were about £100 cheaper with the cashback via Quidco.com
Both M&S and L&V were recommended via the forum when I asked a similar question some time ago.
Problem I had was the out of home insurance - given the fact that the maximum insurable amount was £10k per item and one of the watches had a higher replacement value than that.
In the end a broker sorted out a deal with Legal and General - worked out £15 per month more than current insurance but all in not too bad.
Absolutely - see my comments in previous threads about their faultless, hassle free service when I had a watch stolen earlier this year ......
Updated the policy recently and all Sea-Dwellers are insured for the replacement value of a Deep Sea Sea-Dweller - that is until the older models command a much higher price. I simply provided the details and a current Rolex price list to confirm the replacement values.
It's just a matter of time...
I insure with a company called cover direct at present and just added my 2 watches on the policies, cost an extra £50 for the year which is a little steep. I initially bought the policy based on price for my contents but know I have more value I think I will shop around for a better policy next year. I insured my new one at the RRP and my used one at my purchase price.
James
Hi Ryan
Do you know what the value you are allowed per item ,I have a new AP ROO witch my current policy will insure but for Huge price ,this is an ongoing problem for all it seems.
Cheers
Tony
safe keeping is becoming increasingly hard to come by.... especially with banks as most of them now are doing away with the service. some people like LTF keep their watches in a safety deposit box, whether it's with a bank or a third party safe deposit company, i don't know and that's none of my business.
bear in mind, that if you wish to use a safe deposit box it does cost a fair bit of money, looking at this safety deposit box website. for a relatively small box it's going to cost about £30/month over a 2 year period, so it's worth checking with an insurer how much extra they want for certain prized timepieces.
there is an alternative, but i'm not sure what would happen in the unfortunate event you get burgled and your safe is emptied or ripped out and taken with contents inside, but there are safes that are eurograded.
eurograde safes where a grade 0 will have a contents value of £6k cash or £60k non-cash content up to a grade 6 which is £150k cash rated or £1.5m non-cash rated.
i hope there was some use in this post, at least for people to expand on what i've already mentioned.
I have mine on the house policy new for old but they did want to see the receipt for the cost of the watches, also told them I had a safe but that made no dif.
ParcelPro USA specialize in the insurance of jewellery and watches, worldwide. Used them for years.
Ivan
iwcforme
I have a hiscox policy but they recently added and endorsement requiring my to have a safe in the house. It isn't a cheap option especially as I had to increase my excess to get my premium below £2k!!
I changed from Halifax to M&S Premier yesterday coincidentally to cover a new incoming (see other thread!). Unlimited contents, £15k item of interest minimum, £50k valuables limit and up to £50k out the house in £5k increments. Ok so it cost a tenner more a month than Halifax (before the £40 Quidco rebate) but I'm now properly covered. Oh and they do a really good deal on expensive pedal cycles (my weakness!!)
Same here I flipped to M&s Premier last month.. nice easy policy.. lets hope their claims process is so slick if I ever have to use it. (They are unwritten by AXA afterall....)
I'm insured if my watch falls off my wrist in the street (spring bar failure),but not if I put it in for service and the watchmaker goes belly up.Odd really
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