For my insurance I need an appraisal of each watch to be insured. It seems that I skip that step as they would (I assume) appraise against my listed value. It just seems a faster cleaner process for collectors like us that have constant changes in our collections
I work within the insurance industry (although not on the "personal lines" side, which this would be). I would say that the most efficient, cheapest and (likely) best way to insure watches is on a home owners or renters insurance policy.
You will need to speak to a broker in order to find the policy that fits your specific needs - you don't pay for their time - they're given a commission by the insurance company.
As a general statement, you ought to find an insurer that offers to insure your watches and jewelry on a "rider" - essentially a separate add-on policy to the main policy. By way of example, mine allows me to insure up to $30,000 in watches and jewelry without appraisal or even telling the insurance company what I have. The rider carries no deductible (I.e. I pay nothing if there's a claim) and all pieces are insured to replacement value.
A number of years ago I had a Tag Heuer Monaco stolen - I reported it and was told to go to any reputable jewelry store and get a price on replacing the piece - I'd bought the Monaco used on eBay for $1,400, but it didn't matter. As I was insured to replacement value, I received $6,000. My policy is through a global insurer called Chubb (I'm in no way affiliated with them - in fact I compete with them) - they are seen as one of the premier insurance companies for personal lines. They're more expensive but, as noted above, provide an exceptional experience in the event of a claim.
That's a definite "no" then. I pay less than that for my entire watch collection through home insurance.
Be aware what info they require to hook you up:
From their website, when you need to click you agree to it before getting a quote:
To provide an accurate quote, we may obtain information about you and any household member from consumer reporting agencies and other third parties where permitted by law. In connection with this application for insurance, we may review your credit report or use a credit-based insurance score on the information contained in your credit report (in applicable states), driving and claim histories and other consumer reports. We may use this information to underwrite and/or rate your policy.
I wrote a bit on stolen watches and insurance here on OF, and still can't believe that about 40% (note the caveats on that post) live dangerously with no insurance. Hope this gets people at least to consider the option before something unfortunate occurs.
Insurance from a publishing company feels like getting my car worked on by the staff at the McDonald’s drive-thru.
Be aware what info they require to hook you up:
From their website, when you need to click you agree to it before getting a quote:
To provide an accurate quote, we may obtain information about you and any household member from consumer reporting agencies and other third parties where permitted by law. In connection with this application for insurance, we may review your credit report or use a credit-based insurance score on the information contained in your credit report (in applicable states), driving and claim histories and other consumer reports. We may use this information to underwrite and/or rate your policy.
'Living dangerously' is relative. I live in a town of about 11,000 in a gated community with 185 homes, in the approx 20 years of its existence there has been ONE burglary, and that was traced to a tradesman, and quickly solved. Insurance is there to protect you from catastrophic financial, or legal, situations so home, auto and life insurance makes sense. Although I have a lot tied up in my watches it wouldn't be catastrophic to my financial life if they suddenly were stolen. Hence I self insure. When I'm away from the house for more than a couple of days the watches and my wife's jewelry goes into the bank's safe deposit box. Everybody's situation is unique. In my situation I don't think spending a lot of money on insurance premiums is warranted. I don't consider it living dangerously at all. If you live in an apartment in a large city in an iffy part of town it might make sense to insure.
