Insuring my 4 Rolex watches

[ChipotleBanana]

I would consider looking into the Hodinkee insurance plan. They will insure your watches up to 150% of MSRP if the watch is highly sought-after. They have the best pricing and coverage imo.

[offrdmania]

I too have State Farm under their articles policy. The premium is 1% and any watch over $5K requires an appraisal. Under $5K and your purchase receipt can be used.
The one thing I like about State Farm is that they will insure your watch if it is ripped from your wrist. Some rider policies dont cover this act. Its best to find out what the coverage covers. A lot only cover theft from inside your house and not when the item has been taken out of the house.

[JSol1]

Originally Posted by HippoPAPAmus

This is interesting. I heard the opposite from my JMI rep. Was concerned after Hulk was discontinued so I got it appraised, resubmitted at $20k and the rep said that was fine and they’d cover for that amount since I was paying the higher premium and could never replace for $9k MSRP.


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I was told similar when insuring my 5 digit Bluesy. Had it appraised by the AD when I submitted for insurance and was told I would be reimbursed for basically msrp of a new Bluesy. Perhaps this is for discontinued pieces?
Will have to call them now to find out...

[HiDive]

The other nice thing about State Farm is that they cover repairs from damage as well. On several occasions I have dropped a watch or slammed it up against something which required repair and they covered it fully. No arguments no questions. I submitted the receipt for a full repair and overhaul and they covered it. I am not sure if the other companies do that.

[Combine man]

Originally Posted by EconTigerOrange

You need the valuation to be on Agreed Value. Avoid Stated Value as it allows the insurer to pay the lesser of Actual Cash Value (ACV) or the Stated Value. Replacement Cost is fine for my SD43, but if I had a Daytona, Pepsi, etc. I’d go with Agreed Value.

This is so right Agreed value is vital for anything like watches,most home policies will add them on for extra premium,also be carefull for things like travel abroad.We always talk to our company farthings like this,as insurance companies are good at wriggling out of their commitments,and we use a good company.
With Rolex's the replacement cost can differ from the rrp,if you have to go grey to avoid a long wait,so an original certificate of value from an AD would be of a lower price to what you may have to pay,your relationship with your insurer is important for this.
I have never had secure storage specified for our policy for our jewellery, but have heard of companies that have.
Insurance can be a mine field,and as values of property increases thy try harder to wriggle out of paying for loss.My experience is only UK based I hasten to add.

[wclowe]

Originally Posted by GADNYC

Hodinkee has a partnership with Chubb - I haven't used, but it looks simple and you can insure mkt value. #notanendorsement
https://insurance.hodinkee.com/

I looked at that but found their mkt value quote was substantially higher than my current mkt value policy with USAA.


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[Jmbarrack]

Originally Posted by Brady2117

Hey there peeps! So I tried to find the thread but couldn't, it was about insuring our Rollies and would insurance Co take retail appraisal or market value..?

I have State Farm and they gladly took my appraisal from Elite Time pieces, their insurance appraisal is the way to go.
They research that particular model and send back a current market value appraisal. ie my 2019 Hulk box/papers $20k appraisal.

So just a FYI for anyone who cares or wants to insure their rolex for the actual value.

Thx!

I took the OP up on his suggestion for Elite Time Pieces. They got me my 3 appraisals for insurance in just a few hours. Super nice professional and easy to work with. I’m thrilled.

Thanks OP. You totally helped me out major here.


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[JebM]

I have some with JM and one with hondinkee sp? or something like that (the travel clock guy dating John Mayer) you know what I mean.


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[jefe1999]

In the FWIW department:

I have a close friend, a senior independent property claims adjustor, who does mostly seven and eight figure claims: Chubb is the best company he deals with. They perform as agreed, and pay.

Also, if anybody has reinsurance from Lloyds, watch out, he says. They've sustained big losses, and have become extraordinarily difficult.

From another close friend, an attorney: When he gets a case insured by State Farm, he cringes, because they don't pay for months or years, until he's forced to claim bad faith.

[ochozacho]

Originally Posted by Paul7

The problem with this is if you have a watch claim it can raise your homeowner's rates, that's why I use Jeweler's Mutual.

This^^ I am an insurance agent and I both write and use for myself Jewelers Mutual. Great policies and can be purchased online.


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[ochozacho]

Originally Posted by jefe1999

In the FWIW department:

I have a close friend, a senior independent property claims adjustor, who does mostly seven and eight figure claims: Chubb is the best company he deals with. They perform as agreed, and pay.

Also, if anybody has reinsurance from Lloyds, watch out, he says. They've sustained big losses, and have become extraordinarily difficult.

From another close friend, an attorney: When he gets a case insured by State Farm, he cringes, because they don't pay for months or years, until he's forced to claim bad faith.

Most of the contractors in my area won’t take claims work for any carrier with the word “state” in their title for this very reason.



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[m3tek44]

have all my watches insured through home insurance @ market value. recent purchase I have insured through hodinkee (slightly higher premium compare to home) but it's soo easy to insure (take few photos and you enter market value). highly recommend to others!!

[HiBoost]

This thread prompted me to call my State Farm agent yesterday and dig in a bit more. She in turn called the underwriters to further research, then called me back. Basically what she said was black and white is that they are committed to getting your item replaced in the event of a loss. What is more gray is what it costs them in dollars to do this. So as an example, I have watch X insured for $15k. It gets stolen. SF claims to have an extensive network where it can purchase such things, many at discounts. If they are able to buy the same watch, same condition for $12k, they will first offer to give me that watch, but if I instead say I want cash, then they will likely only pay me out $12k. But in the Hulk scenario, if the market is truly $20k, I'm not sure how they'd make the case that it can't be worth $20k. And if they can actually source one for $10k, who really cares? She stressed it really only becomes an issue when you are wanting cash instead of a replacement. Obviously this gets tricky with vintage pieces where the style of font can be +/- $10k. At that point you really just need to have a realistic appraisal and make sure they stay up to date. If you haven't updated your appraisals in 30 years and your 1958 never polished Pepsi is covered for $5k, you can't really complain if that's all they pay you when it gets stolen.

[Paul7]

Don't know about the others, but Jewelers Mutual even pays if you lose the watch and don't know where it is.

[GMTmatt]

Originally Posted by Paul7

The problem with this is if you have a watch claim it can raise your homeowner's rates, that's why I use Jeweler's Mutual.

Not if you have a personal articles policy it won’t raise your homeowner insurance. When you get in a car accident does that raise your homeowner insurance? Nope...

[upsidedownbelt]

Originally Posted by Michael T

I recently moved from USAA to Jewelers Mutual. Premium is near 1.5% to include my wife’s jewelry. I needed to spend $200 on an independent appraisal on a new DayDate40, that process at USAA drove me away after 30 plus years. My premium went down about 10% in the move.

I am considering the same move. USAA hasn’t been easy to deal with regarding Rolex prices vs market value.

[bigdecker]

A

[Cauhauna]

Originally Posted by upsidedownbelt

I am considering the same move. USAA hasn’t been easy to deal with regarding Rolex prices vs market value.

i just moved my collection to Chubb for this reason, from USAA

USAA required an appraisal to increase the value from whatever the original purchase price was. bought my sub in 2018, paid 8550. to replace it today would cost ~15K. If i want to insure for 15K, i need to get a $200 appraisal for USAA to agree.

No thanks, it's 2022. I also don't use fax machines.

With Chubb, snap a few pics, type in your watch value, and they insure for up to 150%. Global coverage, including theft, loss, and damage. If your watch is stolen and they pay on it and later recover it, you have the option to buy it back for the price they paid out.
Watches under 100K do not need appraisals.
unregistered, New watch acquisitions are covered for 90 days, up to 25% of policy value (no more calling USAA in the AD to insure before walking out the door).

I pay 1500/year for 113K in coverage @ Chubb. Major Metropolitan zip code.

[fskywalker]

I use my home insurance policy as well. Unfortunately some of the companies suggested above (like Jewelers Mutual) do not have coverage where I live (Puerto Rico)


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[Big Tex Rolex]

Thanks to all that contributed to this discussion.