In this article, we explore the watch and jewellery market, the impact of recent record-breaking watch sales on the secondary market, and how valuations can play an important role in avoiding underinsurance.
Our Role As Your Insurance Broker
As an insurance broker, providing a client with an insurance policy is just the tip of the iceberg. The end result will be a policy specifically built for a client’s individual needs, but to get to that point we must understand and consider a whole range of risk factors.
Not only do we take a snapshot of the monetary value of a client’s collection for the present day, but we also consider and keep in mind what the value of those assets could look like in a few years. The insurer we recommend must competently underwrite and insure the assets of our clients – a review we repeat annually. This is especially true for clients with watch & jewellery collections.
Why Should Watch And Jewellery Owners Take Stock Of Their Collections?
Quite simply, so many people have bought a luxury brand watch, such as a Rolex, and won’t realise that it could have doubled in value; in some cases, more than doubled. This is regardless of whether they are the first owner or it was bought on the secondary market. The knock-on effect is that the value many watches or collections are insured for is now completely outdated. Anyone who hasn’t had a valuation in the last 5 years is at the biggest risk of underinsurance.
It’s not just watches though. Diamonds purchased many years ago, perhaps for your wedding, or items that were inherited, are also likely to have considerably increased in value.
Here are the most frequently asked questions we receive on this topic, along with our advice:
Q1. Are There Any Additional Benefits To Having A Valuation?
Yes, there are additional layers of cover. If you update your valuations every 2-3 years, you’ll automatically receive increase in value cover from your insurer. And depending on your insurer, your policy could give you between 25% – 200% extra cover for any value increases.
Q2. How Often Should Valuations Be Updated?
Every 2 -5 years with 5 years being the absolute longest period without review. Looking at the recent value trends clearly demonstrates how waiting 5 years between valuations could put you at risk of underinsurance. We would always recommend every 3 years given how the jewellery and watch market has performed over the last few years. Demand within the secondary market has meant a shortage of supply which has driven up prices exponentially.
Q3. Will Purchase Receipts Work As A Valuation?
Insurers always recommend keeping purchase receipts. They can obviously provide proof of purchase and for fashion brands, proof of value. But when applied to luxury brands, the receipt will quickly become unreliable for proving secondary market values – almost immediately.
Q4. Can My Insurance Broker Help Value My Items?
We leave the valuing to the experts, but the good news is at C & C Private Clients our Concierge Package, is available to all of our Private Client members. This package gives you exclusive access to Valuers who are respected and recognised by leading insurers.
Protecting those high-end jewellery items is also key, as is having the right safe to meet your insurance requirements.
If you would like to talk about protecting your jewellery and watches, and having those items valued, please get in touch with us.
Protecting those high-end jewellery items is key, and having the right safe appropriate for the value of your jewellery is essential to meet your insurance requirements. Not all safes are equal. They are graded from 0 to 7 with each grade allowing for increasing values of cash and jewellery to be stored.
The following shows the cash and jewellery value of each grade
| Grade | Cash Rating | Jewellery Rating |
| Grade 0 | £6,000 | £60,000 |
| Grade 1 | £10,000 | £100,000 |
| Grade 2 | £17,500 | £175,000 |
| Grade 3 | £35,000 | £350,000 |
| Grade 4 | £60,000 | £600,000 |
| Grade 5 | £100,000 | £1,000,000 |
| Grade 6 | £150,000 | £1,500,000 |
| Grade 7 | £250,000 | £2,500,000 |
So, you can see how important it is to have your watches and jewellery valued on a regular basis to comply with your insurer’s requirements. Admittedly, sometimes the Jewellery Rating on a policy document isn’t always explained very clearly but we can help clarify this for you.
Items can also be placed in a bank deposit box which will reduce the premium further due to the items no longer being at your home address. It is worthwhile discussing the wearing habits of your valuables, in addition to the valuations to ensure the right cover, but also a fair premium in line with your lifestyle.
