Insurance?

[Timo007]

Afternoon, could anyone point me in the direction of decent insurance please? I currently have a new Seamaster Pro 300 (had approx 2 months) really struggling to obtain insurance on it. A recent Google search came back with a couple of decent ones, one apparently I failed a credit check so wouldn’t insure me, the 2nd rang me 2 days later after taking the policy out to state they couldn’t insure me (didn’t offer any explanation) I then contacted my house insurance to add it to that who had to look at upgrading my policy to eventually tell me they couldn’t add it to this, now because I have told them I have the watch they are cancelling my house insurance if I don’t obtain adequate insurance for the watch within 14 days???!!
My age btw is very late 40s

 

[SPEEDYMARTIN]

Timo007

Afternoon, could anyone point me in the direction of decent insurance please? I currently have a new Seamaster Pro 300 (had approx 2 months) really struggling to obtain insurance on it. A recent Google search came back with a couple of decent ones, one apparently I failed a credit check so wouldn’t insure me, the 2nd rang me 2 days later after taking the policy out to state they couldn’t insure me (didn’t offer any explanation) I then contacted my house insurance to add it to that who had to look at upgrading my policy to eventually tell me they couldn’t add it to this, now because I have told them I have the watch they are cancelling my house insurance if I don’t obtain adequate insurance for the watch within 14 days???!!
My age btw is very late 40s

I had the same insurance issues when I tried to insure my Jeep Wrangler after adding some aftermarket upgrades....

Getting back to Watches insurance, I am a new owner of a vintage 1969 Moonwatch and was just about to contact my house insurance to let them know; would not be suprised to get similar answers as you got

 

[Dan S]

In general, I wouldn't say it's really necessary to insure a watch worth a few thousand dollars. Certainly nothing life changing will happen if it is lost or stolen. Just self-insure.

Regarding the homeowners insurance being canceled. If that part of the story is really true, then it sounds to me like they are looking to cancel your insurance because of a different reason, like your credit history.

 

[PandaSPUR]

Hodinkee is probably the easiest way to get a watch insured, but its premium is a bit high, around 3% of insured value I think.

I use Statefarm Personal Articles Policy, premium is about 1% of insured value.
Statefarm can be more annoying, requiring appraisals for stuff that is being insured for market value or stuff that you don't have a receipt for. For appraisals, I've used https://www.elitetimepieces.com/insuranceappraisalform.html in the past.

 

[Meme-Dweller]

Hodinkee aka Chubb or Jeweler's Mutual would be your best bet. But since the cost of your standard Omega would be about the cost of a car repair, I would just self-insure and use the premium for a Glock with an extra magazine. The ol' Texas insurance.

 

[Timo007]

Meme-Dweller

Hodinkee aka Chubb or Jeweler's Mutual would be your best bet. But since the cost of your standard Omega would be about the cost of a car repair, I would just self-insure and use the premium for a Glock with an extra magazine. The ol' Texas insurance.

I like the idea, however UK laws don’t allow me to go that route

 

[Dan S]

Timo007

I like the idea, however UK laws don’t allow me to go that route

They don't allow you to self-insure?

 

[Timo007]

Dan S

They don't allow you to self-insure?

For having a Glock in the premises nope! A bit of “care” I guess when wearing it would be the option if all else fails

 

[Joe_A]

Timo007

Afternoon, could anyone point me in the direction of decent insurance please? I currently have a new Seamaster Pro 300 (had approx 2 months) really struggling to obtain insurance on it. A recent Google search came back with a couple of decent ones, one apparently I failed a credit check so wouldn’t insure me, the 2nd rang me 2 days later after taking the policy out to state they couldn’t insure me (didn’t offer any explanation) I then contacted my house insurance to add it to that who had to look at upgrading my policy to eventually tell me they couldn’t add it to this, now because I have told them I have the watch they are cancelling my house insurance if I don’t obtain adequate insurance for the watch within 14 days???!!
My age btw is very late 40s

If I faced a similar situation and I had a mortgage requiring insurance, my greatest concern would be for the potential loss of the insurability of the home.

I'd contact the insurance company and ask them to add a rider to the policy excluding watches and, if necessary, any other jewelry items that may have been previously covered. It may be too late, but worth a try.

Then . . .

After my own financial situation has improved, I would take another look at the home insurance market . . . but not before my own financial condition was clearly better. Subscribe to, or use the once a year free credit monitoring services to track one's financial condition.

Edit: Assuming there are such services available in the UK.

 

[Evitzee]

Self insure, if a watch is lost/stolen it's not going to be life changing, just a bad experience of life. People tend to over insure. Concentrate on the big stuff; house, life, health, vehicle insurance, the other stuff is down the list. Hodinkee insurance is about 2%, that doesn't sound like much but over the years it really starts to add up. Over ten years that's 20%, worth it? Not to me.

 

[Annapolis]

I own several watches but only one that’s insured—it’s practically (if not theoretically) irreplaceable, and it cost me enough that it would be a significant financial inconvenience to me if it were lost or stolen. Not like losing a house—but about like losing a car. I use Hodinkee. I pay $340 a year for the insurance.

I like the peace of mind the insurance brings as I wear the watch pretty much daily and there’s always the (albeit slim) chance I could be mugged or a pin could snap and the watch could fall off somewhere I couldn’t recover it, etc. …Or I could have a medical incident and wake up in the hospital sans watch—it happens.

I’m less worried about theft as my house is fairly secure. But there are times when I feel like a dupe for paying for the insurance, especially when a 350lb fireproof gun safe can be bought for $700. For the price of a couple years of insurance, I could buy one of those and store all of my watches that way. (They are secured now, but in a different way that protects them from theft but not fire/water.)

Of course, a home safe doesn’t help with mugging or accidents. I’ll probably keep my Hodinkee insurance. But I wouldn’t bother for a watch under $10k that can be easily replaced. Everyone’s got a different threshold.

 

[Poppyboy]

Especially in the current cancel climate, insurance should really just be reserved for disasters.

 

[drster]

Not familiar with UK laws. If they want to cancel your homeowners insurance just tell them you sold the watch.

 

[Zman4eva]

I agree with the sentiment to self-insure if it's only a $4K watch.

House insurance is such a scam (in the US). You call them for anything and they bump up your rates, tell you to replace your roof, or try to cancel you. God forbid you actually have a claim. You'll get denied by every other insurer since you now have a prior claim.

 

[PandaSPUR]

Everyone advocating for self-insurance seems to be missing OP's issue of home insurance threatening to drop them if they dont get the watch insured separately.

I didn't realize that's something they can do but maybe the laws in the UK are different. I found this thread for the UK: https://omegaforums.net/threads/watch-insurance-in-uk-who-do-people-use.120262/

 

[Gav1967]

Timo007

Afternoon, could anyone point me in the direction of decent insurance please? I currently have a new Seamaster Pro 300 (had approx 2 months) really struggling to obtain insurance on it. A recent Google search came back with a couple of decent ones, one apparently I failed a credit check so wouldn’t insure me, the 2nd rang me 2 days later after taking the policy out to state they couldn’t insure me (didn’t offer any explanation) I then contacted my house insurance to add it to that who had to look at upgrading my policy to eventually tell me they couldn’t add it to this, now because I have told them I have the watch they are cancelling my house insurance if I don’t obtain adequate insurance for the watch within 14 days???!!
My age btw is very late 40s

Maybe there is something peculiar about your current policy that doesn't allow you to add it on. I'm in the UK and never have any trouble each year shopping around for my general house insurance and naming my watches (above reasonable value each watch and to a max value overall) on the policy.
I'm in the self insure boat in general but seeing as it costs very little to the premium to add them I do it anyway.

 

[Gav1967]

Timo007

now because I have told them I have the watch they are cancelling my house insurance if I don’t obtain adequate insurance for the watch within 14 days???!!

Thinking on this a little more I'm not sure how they can justify this. Unless they have some reason to believe you or the house are more liable to be robbed or broken in to because of your watch ownership then what the hell does it matter to them whether it is insured or not? Do you have an excessive claim history? (Apologies for personal question)
Let them cancel and take out new insurance (with or without watch). You don't need that kind of company

Edited: Jun 12, 2024

 

[Larry S]

I’d talk to an insurance agent about reviewing your history and policies. With the insurance industry under pressure from climate change, they are on a hair trigger. Scammy hail claims were what drove my my last insurer out of my state and I was forced to install a new roof in order to qualify for a new policy. That done, my new policy offers the same coverage, including watches, cars, umbrella for $1000 less per year. These policies are to ameliorate a catastrophic event, they are not a source of cash and people need to understand that.

 

[Evitzee]

Homeowner's insurance is under pressure for many reasons, at least in the US. People are building in places that aren't wise and that are subject to normal wind and rain events but result in a lot of damage when a storm hits, prices overall are up about 20% over the last three years making repair more expensive, and good old fashioned fraud is alive and well. Total energy from weather events has not increased in decades so the 'climate change' excuse is a convenient excuse for the media and the insurers. (Auto insurance is also skyrocketing and that's not due to climate change). You should shop around and see if you can get a better deal but many insurers don't want any new business and many are leaving various states. I would guess things in the UK are similar. I've never heard of an insurance company cancelling insurance because the owner has an expensive item that isn't insured. There must be something else going on under the radar.

 

[Larry S]

Evitzee

Homeowner's insurance is under pressure for many reasons, at least in the US. People are building in places that aren't wise and that are subject to normal wind and rain events but result in a lot of damage when a storm hits, prices overall are up about 20% over the last three years making repair more expensive, and good old fashioned fraud is alive and well. Total energy from weather events has not increased in decades so the 'climate change' excuse is a convenient excuse for the media and the insurers. (Auto insurance is also skyrocketing and that's not due to climate change). You should shop around and see if you can get a better deal but many insurers don't want any new business and many are leaving various states. I would guess things in the UK are similar. I've never heard of an insurance company cancelling insurance because the owner has an expensive item that isn't insured. There must be something else going on under the radar.

Yes …Too much building in historically risky places is certainly a problem. Fraud is certainly a problem, especially with Roofs. My roofer says the insurers have only themselves to blame for that last issue (rolling over too easily) Climate change is real however including sea level rise and making the former even worse. Tornado Alley for example is moving eastward. I’m a veteran of trying to keep a house insured in Florida. I gave up and sold it right before IAN destroyed it. (yes, I disclosed to the new owner (now rebuilt) the heart stopping cost of insurance). Both my sisters have lost their insurance again in S Florida and forecasts for this season are grim. Recent Economist issue rang the alarms for the global housing market and its all about location location location and insurance.