Jewellery insurance
Don’t go in blind looking for cover for your insurance. We’ve broken down the three main ways to insure jewellery in Australia.
Key takeaways
- You can insure your jewellery with portable contents insurance or specialised jewellery insurance.
- You need specialised jewellery insurance if you want to choose your repairer and have tailored cover.
- Consider each policy's cover limits and exclusions with the value of your jewellery.
What is jewellery insurance?
Jewellery insurance helps you pay for some or all of the costs to repair or replace your jewellery if your piece is damaged, stolen, or lost.
It usually covers theft, accidental damage, and that pesky unexplained loss. However, not everything is covered—wear and tear, intentional damage, and mechanical failure typically don't make the list.
Keep in mind that every type of policy and insurer will have its own included and excluded events, so knowing the differences is key to finding what works for you!
How can I get jewellery insurance?
There are 3 main ways you can insure your jewellery pieces:
- Home and contents insurance
- Adding portable contents insurance to your home and contents insurance policy
- With a specialised jewellery insurance policy
Home contents insurance for jewellery
If you have contents insurance, your jewellery will likely have some cover. But don't get too comfortable—what's offered can be pretty limited, and your jewellery isn't covered if you take it outside.
Most contents policies have a cap on how much you can claim for an item or set of jewellery. For example, AAMI covers only $2,000 per item and up to $5,000 total. So if your jewellery is worth more, you may not be covered for its full value. Some insurers allow you to increase your item limit for a higher premium.
What's covered?
- Your jewellery at home.
- Some types of damage like fire & flood.
- Certain incidents like theft, vandalism, and unexplained loss.
- Accidental damage is usually added as an extra, increasing your premium.
What's not covered?
- Damage or theft outside the home.
- Accidents like dropping your jewellery piece.
- Wear and tear & neglect.
- Defects and mechanical failure.
- Illegal ownership.
Who's it for? – If you've got contents insurance, you may already covered for jewellery at home without lifting a finger, although this isn't the case with every insurer. But if your pieces are worth several thousand dollars, adequate coverage can be hard to come by unless you raise your item limit. A specialised jewellery insurance policy could be a smart move in that case.
Add portable contents insurance to your home contents policy
Adding portable contents coverage to your home insurance can safeguard your jewellery from loss, theft, or damage while you're on the go. And by that we mean – usually within Australia. If you're taking your jewellery overseas, it's probably worth considering travel insurance instead.
With portable contents insurance, you'll get a similar level of cover as items in the home, but the added bonus of cover while you're out of the home will cost you an increased premium. Many insurers will also have a separate excess to pay. With AAMI, for example – if you make a claim for contents and portable items, you'll need to pay the highest of the two excesses.
What's covered?
- Your jewellery in and outside the home.
- Some types of damage like fire, theft, & flood.
- Accidental damage may need to be added as an extra, increasing your premium.
What's not covered?
- It may not cover the entire cost of repair or replacement.
- Any pieces used for business or to make income.
- Wear and tear & neglect.
Who's it for? – If you already have contents insurance, this is an easy way to get the same cover for your jewellery while it's out of the home. Bear in mind, if you're looking for higher cover limits or want to cover specific items, you'll be paying extra.
While most portable contents insurers will only cover you while you're in Australia, some, like GIO and AAMI, include New Zealand as well, so it pays to know the details. Depending on your needs and whether you already have a contents policy, a specialised jewellery policy may fit you better.
Specialised jewellery insurance
Standalone jewellery insurance provides tailored cover for precious items and pieces of jewellery. This can be a great option for those with high value pieces of jewellery, as a regular insurer may not cover the full value of the item. Additionally, specialised jewellery insurance can cover a wider range of events like mysterious disappearance while your jewellery is on the go or natural disaster cover. Unlike car insurance, most jewellery insurers, have agreed value policies. This means if your items get stolen or lost, you'll be paid the actual value listed no your policy, minus an excess.
What benefits you get will all depend on which provider you choose. Certain insurers like Centrestone have zero excess on claims and well as annual revaluation of your jewellery to match replacement costs. So it pays to shop around.
What's covered?
- Theft, loss, damage, & mysterious disappearance
- Natural disaster cover
- World wide travel cover
- Agreed value
What's not covered?
- Cleaning and renovation damage
- Intentional damage
- Any pieces used for business or to make income
- Wear and tear & neglect
Who's it for? – Specialised jewellery insurance is the great way to get comprehensive cover for your highly valuable jewellery. Many policies offer coverage for events you won't find in contents insurance, like mysterious disappearance. If you need to insure a highly valuable piece of jewellery like say, a diamond ring, you'll likely find the cover limits and inclusions you need from a specialised jewellery insurer.
It's good to know, there's healthy competition among jewellery providers in Australia — we found at least 12 different insurers on just the first two pages of Google. Most insurers compete on benefits, which makes it a good idea to shop around to find one that fits your needs.
Compare specialised jewellery insurance options
Compare contents insurance policies
How much does jewellery insurance cost?
It all depends on your jewellery item, the level of cover you're looking for, and who you're insuring with. A rare time piece or a set of gold earrings can have very different cover limits and premiums attached, for example, but the differences between providers can be drastic.
Taking a look at some data, the impact of adding a watch on a contents insurance premium can vary quite a bit across providers. With Budget Direct, your premium could go up by $242 at the highest end, while at the lower with NRMA, it's may only increase by $12.
| Provider | Premium cost without watch | Premium cost with watch |
|---|---|---|
 | $511.24 | $753.65 |
 | $560.98 | $573.65 |
 | $429.62 | $446.40 |
 | $1,154.15 | $1,203.60 |
 | $516.74 | $534.01 |
This information is accurate as of September 2024.
Things to consider when buying insurance for your jewellery
Our jewellery is precious and often expensive to replace, so don't settle for a policy that doesn't meet your needs. Here are some key things to keep in mind if you're thinking about buying jewellery insurance:
- Can you afford to pay out of pocket? Always weigh the costs of each policy type to see if it's worth it compared to replacing the items yourself, or if it makes more sense to pay for cover.
- Will it pay the full value of my jewellery? If your cover is coming from contents insurance, make sure you know the per-item and total cover limits. Will this cover your jewellery in full? If not, consider increasing your cover limits or an alternative policy.
- Consider specialised cover if your standard cover won't cut it. This lets you specify items of particular value, so you have ample cover if you make a claim.
- Does it cover the events I need? Not all policies will cover certain damage types like accidental damage or while you're overseas. So it's good to know if you'll need to pay more to add extra cover.
- Get it valued. Getting your pieces professionally appraised is key to understanding your insurance needs. Some pieces can increase in value over time, so you don't want to under-insure them or pay more than needed if the values are more modest than you expected.
Choosing a policy—or skipping insurance entirely— will all depend on your needs and whether you can afford repairs or replacements out of pocket.
Explore and compare portable contents insurance with Finder.
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