Protect Your Assets: A Buyer's Guide to Ring Insurance

Your commitment is what matters, but you'd still be pretty upset if you lost your engagement ring, right? Before you get too caught up in showing off your bling like Kim Kardashian, make sure to protect your prized possession with jewelry insurance.

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A good personal-article insurance policy will cover your engagement ring, wedding ring, or other jewelry — up to whatever amount you choose — in the case of theft, loss, fire, or something crazy, like the diamond falling out during a water-ski excursion. Policies vary depending on your coverage and the value of your ring, but there are some general rules. Now that you've found the perfect ring, here's what you need to know about ring insurance.

Check Your Policy

Just because you have renter's or homeowner's insurance doesn't mean your ring is fully covered. Generally, these policies only cover personal articles up to a certain value, such as $1,000, so check to see what your policy covers. Even then, this only covers jewelry lost in the case of theft or fire in your home.

Get an Extension

You can add jewelry insurance as a "rider" (or extension) to your homeowner's or renter's policy, or you can purchase a separate personal-article policy to cover jewelry and other valuable items. Either way, this will cover the ring even when it's outside your home.

Know Your Options

Talk to your insurer about options. Prices vary depending on the value of your ring, the value of the stones, and what disasters your insurance covers, such as theft, loss, damage, or other unexpected issues. Some policies will reimburse you with a check — the best option for one-of-a-kind or heirloom pieces — while other coverages might require that you actually purchase a replacement ring via an approved jeweler.

Evaluate Your Bling

Even if you have a receipt, you should get your ring appraised before insuring it. State Farm's personal-article insurance, for instance, requires an appraisal from within the last two years that describes the ring and rates the four Cs; you'll also want to bring the ring into the agent's office so the insurer can snap a photo and verify that you own it. One exception is if your ring is available through a jeweler's catalog, in which case a receipt plus the catalog should be sufficient.

What You'll Pay

Depending on the size of your deductible, expect to pay an annual rate of at least $1 to $2 for every $100 your ring is worth. So if your ring is worth $5,000, then it might cost $50 to $100 per year to insure. When I called my agent at State Farm, he quoted me $87 per year for up to $5,000 in value but no deductible or $52 per year for up to $5,000 with a $1,000 deductible.

Do you have jewelry insurance?