Scheduled Personal Property
December 16, 2015
As we get closer to Christmas, it’s important to think about insuring some of those gifts! Property insurance policies, like your home or renters policy, include coverage for your personal property. This coverage will help you replace your items in the event of a covered claim. Basic household items like furniture, clothing, computers, and jewelry are generally covered under the personal property section of your policy and are subject to your deductible. However, depending on your policy, there can be limits on certain coverage and some instances of property loss may not be covered. It’s important to consider scheduling items on your policy to ensure that they are fully covered.
Most policies have limits for things like jewelry, money or securities, and firearms with respect to theft only. For example, your insurance policy may cover jewelry, but only up to $5000 total and not exceeding $1000 for any on article. This means if all of your jewelry was stolen, you would only be able to receive $1000 per article, and only up to $5000 total. Your total claim would also be subject to the deductible. (Check your policy to see your exact limits on these items as well as your deductible.)
Scheduling personal property, also referred to as an inland marine policy, is beneficial for higher value items or items of high importance to you. It allows you to specifically schedule each item of jewelry, artwork, electronics, and many other pieces of property. Scheduled property is also not subject to the deductible, and usually covers things like mysterious disappearance in addition to theft and other normal claim scenarios.
To schedule a piece of property, you will need to provide a receipt of sale or an appraisal for the item to insure it at 100% of value. It can be scheduled as stated amount which means you would get the full amount if something were to happen to it. You can also schedule it as repair/replacement, but this type of coverage is not recommended as it generally is not as comprehensive. In addition, the premium charged for a scheduled item is usually pretty small compared to the amount being covered.
Similar to your homeowners insurance, there are exclusions to scheduled personal property as well. These exclusions can include wear and tear, insects or vermin, and war. Always make sure you read and understand what your policy covers, as you do not want to be caught without proper coverage. If you have any questions or want to schedule items, please give us a call at 480-513-3131.