Protecting your valuables: why it pays to be specific

When it comes to insuring high-value items like jewellery, watches, and art, being specific matters. Many policyholders assume their valuables are covered, but without specifying key items you could be left out of pocket in the event of a claim.

That’s why it’s important to understand how home insurance policies are structured, and where your valuables fit in.

Most home insurance policies are divided into sections. These typically include:

• Buildings
• Contents
• Art
• Jewellery and Watches (sometimes called “valuables”)

Each of these sections is treated separately because the risk profile differs for each type of asset. For example, jewellery and watches are more prone to theft than furniture or clothing, so they carry a higher risk and therefore a different premium rate.

By dividing the policy into sections, insurers can apply more accurate pricing and offer more tailored cover.

This is why it’s so important to ensure your valuables are correctly listed in the right section, with the right sums insured.

Here, we focus on the Jewellery and Watches section and the importance of understanding and applying specified limits.

Insuring jewellery and watches

Insurers set a limit for any single item, pair or set. This is the maximum amount they will pay for an item – unless it is specified. This is called a single article limit.

Here’s how it works:

• Specified items: If an item exceeds the insurer’s single article limit, it must be individually listed (or "specified") on your home insurance schedule.
• Unspecified items: Items below this limit are covered collectively under the "unspecified" amount shown on your schedule.

The single article limit varies between insurers and policy sections. It can be anything from £1,000 to £50,000, so it’s important to know what this limit is – especially when insuring high value jewellery or watches.

If you fail to specify items over the single article limit, you may only be covered up to that limit or, depending on the insurer, not insured at all for that item.

How do I know what items to specify?

Insurers usually require a valuation for a specified item, which we would recommend, even if you have a receipt. Demand for art, antiques, and jewellery fluctuates, for example, over the last five years the value of gold has risen by 78%.

Some insurers offer benefits for specifying items, even those below the single article limit:

• They may guarantee a payout equal to the amount specified.
• Many mid and high net worth insurers will pay above the specified figure shown on your schedule if you have a recent valuation.
• Some of the insurers we work with will give a 25 per cent or even 50 per cent uplift on the value for three years following a valuation to protect policyholders from rising prices.
• They may offer a discount following a full valuation

What about my unspecified amount?

It’s important to make sure that the unspecified figure is high enough to cover everything that isn’t individually listed/specified. This is especially relevant for jewellery and watches.

Just because an item is under the single article limit doesn’t mean its value can be ignored. In our experience, many policyholders focus on valuing their most expensive pieces but overlook the combined value of smaller items - which can add up.

With gold at an all-time high and jewellery and watch values fluctuating, now is the time to get a valuation for your entire collection, not just the big-ticket items. This ensures that both your specified and unspecified amounts are correct.

How should I go about getting a valuation?

A valuation will not only help you set the correct limits, but it’s evidence to support claim, and in our experience a claim is often settled much more quickly when there is an up-to-date valuation.

A good valuation should include:

• A detailed description of the item
• Weight and size
• Photographs
• The date of the valuation
• The valuer’s name and credentials.
• You should also ensure that the valuer has sufficient professional indemnity insurance to cover you, particularly if they undervalue something.

Some valuation companies offer a home visit, so you don’t have to take all of your jewellery out of your home to be valued. Others offer a walk-through service. This is where they value your contents and art and antiques room by room.

We can help with this and have a panel of recommended valuation companies that can assist by not only valuing your pieces now, but by also giving you up-to-date valuations going forward.

How can Howden help?

Our people are not only experienced, but they’re also professionally qualified insurance advisers who understand the fine detail. We’ll take the time to review your policy, ensuring your limits are clearly understood and correctly set. And if the worst happens and you need to make a claim, our specialist claims team can guide you through the process.

To speak to us about your home insurance call 020 8256 4901 or email privateclients@howdeninsurance.co.uk