Insuring your watches - help please!

[Madjam1966]

Apologies if asked before, but who do folk in the UK insure their watches with?

I've had mine covered under my home/contents for last few yeara and all has been fine. I've now moved in with my partner and adding them to her company's policy has resulted in my needing an official current valuation and premium adjustment as the items are worry over £2k each. The valuation cost me £75 and the original adjustment in premium was to be £60 extra to pay for the year. The jeweller (Omega AD) valued the one watch at approx 25% more (over my estimate) so good job I got that valuation done - yet the insurer is now trying to literally triple our annual premium to reflect that. I tried to indicate there must be an error, but now they know I have 2 watches in the house, I have to pay that premium or they will cancel the policy and I have 14 days to decide. I asked them to remove the watches from the cover, and I'd seek alternative cover instead, but they argued that with that information they are unable to do so. Basically, they are taking the proverbial and have us over a barrel. And in addition to my paying the original premium increase and valuation fee, neither of the two watches is likely covered in the meantime.

It's a ludicrous situation which we are trying to sort out but if anyone has any tips, I'd be most grateful to hear please. Thank you

 

[Jip7698]

I use assetsure for mine, seperate to contents insurance. Never had any issues

 

[Gav1967]

There was another similar thread recently that may be worth rasing as a starter

https://omegaforums.net/threads/insurance.173359/

 

[Canuck]

Find out what the amount of your deductible is, then don’t insure any watch that is less than or close to your deductible. Spend your insurance premium for the next few years on a SAFE! Then cancel your insurance. Speak with your insurance agent about a personal property floater (covers non-household stuff). If you have one, ask what it covers. If you don’t have a personal property floater, enquire as to what risks a floater would cover, and whether watches might be included in such a floater.

 

[STANDY]

Just tell them watches are insured elsewhere.
They can’t make you insure with them. Threaten you will go elsewhere with all insurance otherwise.

 

[hen]

Triple the premium, I do believe thats called blackmail or do you have Paul Newmans Daytona and Neil Armstrongs Speedy?

If you do, please post pictures 😀

 

[felsby]

Madjam1966

I asked them to remove the watches from the cover, and I'd seek alternative cover instead, but they argued that with that information they are unable to do so.

Tell me, do you have to cosy up to your insurance companies in UK? In Denmark, most people can get a superior offer from a competitor in a few hours.

 

[JimInOz]

They sound like pricks.

Even if they did relent and allow you to insure with them, can you imagine making a claim?

As noted above, do what many of us do and tell them to stick it and find another insurer.

 

[BrokenSkunk]

Just tell them that you have sold the watches.

 

[paddymoran]

B BrokenSkunk

Just tell them that you have sold the watches.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Evitzee]

My opinion is most people overinsure. Life, yes. Home, yes. Cars, yes. Health, yes. But a few watches, nah. Insurance is for situations that if a loss occurs it can really hurt you financially, or legally. Loss of a watch or two would suck but wouldn't change your life. Insurance may 'only' be 1-2% a year but that adds up year after year. What is the real chance your watch will be stolen? Pretty damn small.

 

[BrokenSkunk]

@Evitzee , actually we were burgled a couple of years ago. I had about 43 watches at the time with a combined value of somewhere around £15K. Luckily the thieves did not find the hidden safe in which the watches were cached. They were not declared on the insurance.

I have asked and the response from my insurer is that they treat the items individually and not as a collection. Since each one is below the limit at which I have to declare a valuable item, my insurer says they are covered.
1/ I have no desire to test that theory.
2/ I'm keeping the email where they say I'm covered!

 

[gbesq]

Evitzee

My opinion is most people overinsure. Life, yes. Home, yes. Cars, yes. Health, yes. But a few watches, nah. Insurance is for situations that if a loss occurs it can really hurt you financially, or legally. Loss of a watch or two would suck but wouldn't change your life. Insurance may 'only' be 1-2% a year but that adds up year after year. What is the real chance your watch will be stolen? Pretty damn small.

I think that you forgot one of the most important types of coverage, especially for those younger members just starting out and with families - and that's disability insurance. The odds of you becoming disabled, either temporarily or permanently, through illness or injury are far greater during your working lifetime than your odds of dying. I have seen some tragic examples of what life can become without disability coverage as well as some other examples of people who thought ahead and had that coverage when they, and their families, really needed it! I dropped my coverage when I got to the point where my investments could produce a similar level of disability insurance income, but I have no regrets about maintaining that coverage until I got to the point where I no longer needed it.

 

[Evitzee]

gbesq

I think that you forgot one of the most important types of coverage, especially for those younger members just starting out and with families - and that's disability insurance. The odds of you becoming disabled, either temporarily or permanently, through illness or injury are far greater during your working lifetime than your odds of dying. I have seen some tragic examples of what life can become without disability coverage as well as some other examples of people who thought ahead and had that coverage when they, and their families, really needed it! I dropped my coverage when I got to the point where my investments could produce a similar level of disability insurance income, but I have no regrets about maintaining that coverage until I got to the point where I no longer needed it.

Yep, forgot about that one, it was always included in my company benefits so I never had to think about it. Once I retired from the company I had sufficient money built up in their Savings Plan, and a lump sum pension payout, to make disability insurance a non-issue.

Another popular insurance, at least in the US, is Long Term Care insurance. I've had it pitched to me numerous times but I could never make the math work, and the premiums are open ended, they just keep going up and up. Many insurance companies lost big on that segment because people kept the policies even as the premiums rose on the premise that they had already invested a lot of money into the program and they weren't going to walk away.

Bit of thread drift there.

 

[gbesq]

Evitzee

Yep, forgot about that one, it was always included in my company benefits so I never had to think about it. Once I retired from the company I had sufficient money built up in their Savings Plan, and a lump sum pension payout, to make disability insurance a non-issue.

Another popular insurance, at least in the US, is Long Term Care insurance. I've had it pitched to me numerous times but I could never make the math work, and the premiums are open ended, they just keep going up and up. Many insurance companies lost big on that segment because people kept the policies even as the premiums rose on the premise that they had already invested a lot of money into the program and they weren't going to walk away.

Bit of thread drift there.

Yep, I agree on both points. Back to watches, I agree that the chance of a loss is pretty small if you take the proper precautions.

 

[Evitzee]

B BrokenSkunk

@Evitzee , actually we were burgled a couple of years ago. I had about 43 watches at the time with a combined value of somewhere around £15K. Luckily the thieves did not find the hidden safe in which the watches were cached. They were not declared on the insurance.

I have asked and the response from my insurer is that they treat the items individually and not as a collection. Since each one is below the limit at which I have to declare a valuable item, my insurer says they are covered.
1/ I have no desire to test that theory.
2/ I'm keeping the email where they say I'm covered!

Sure, anybody can get robbed or burgled, a lot depends on where you live. Living in London, NYC, Paris is different than living in semi-rural Texas for me. It's always a personal call, but overall I still think we tend to insure stuff that really shouldn't be. Just my opinion.

Edited: Jul 4, 2024