Firstly if you’ve bought someone a surprise expensive present for Christmas, such as a watch or expensive jewellery, and are keeping it hidden at your home, it shouldn’t be a surprise to your insurance broker!

Some insurers automatically increase your sum insured to accommodate any festive extras you’ll have in your home. Levels of additional cover over the Christmas period will vary from one insurer to the next, and can have all sorts of conditions and provisos attached, so you should read your policy documents carefully.

Rising values

Values have increased – for example, gold, silver and gems are now more expensive.

It is important to get right valuation so that in case of an unprecedented event of theft, loss or damage, right amount of compensation claim can be done. There are many factors which affect the valuation of jewellery such as market value. Being underinsured is a common problem for jewellery items that gain value over the years, or can be vulnerable to market fluctuations and changes in popularity from brands such as Rolex watches.

Most insurance policies have a sum insured. If this is less than the total cost of your contents, including your valuables, then your cover may not be enough to fully replace your items should you need to claim.

Within your ‘contents sum insured’ there is a valuables limit which is the total amount payable for all your valuables (including jewellery). If this is not updated you could risk being underinsured. There is also a limit for ‘any one valuable item’. If you have a valuable item or a piece of jewellery that is worth more than this single item limit you’ll need to specify it on your policy to ensure it’s covered for the full amount.

Most insurers recommend jewellery and watches are valued every three years as the price of jewellery and gold increases.

The end of the year is always a good time to check that you have the correct level of cover in place and are not underinsured, especially if you have higher value contents including jewellery and watches.

GPS Insurance Brokers work with some of the UK’s leading specialist valuers.

For more information please contact us on 020 3907 7866.