how do i insure household items like jewelry, phones, laptops, etc?

Question

and also what kind of insurance could i get for say my laptop if i travel with it a lot?

Answer 1

If you have standard homeowners or renters insurance, it will cover household items. If you have something that is over the limits (your declarations page will show the limits), you have to pay extra for a "schedule" of items - unless you have more than $5,000 of jewelry or computer equipment, it may not pay to have the additional policy - for jewelry, you need to pay to have an appraisal before you can cover it - if you have a combination of furs, jewels and other "luxury" items, you can usually get a rider that covers those in bulk up to a certain amount. A $5,000 diamond ring may cost you $125 a year in insurance, so know that it's not cheap.

Answer 2

You either need a homeowner's policy or a renter's. These items are covered as personal property subject to whatever deductible you have on the policy. If you have items that are worth insuring separately, they have what they call an inland marine floater where you can list items and values. Always insure these at stated value and no deductible. Cell phones usually aren't listed separately but I did find that in CA Allstate will list them on the schedule.

Answer 3

Homeowner's or renter's insurance, depending on whether you own or rent, will cover all of these things against loss. Keep your policy in a very safe place. Keep photos of your stuff, just polaroids or whatever, nothing fancy, of the condition your stuff is in at the time of coverage, and keep it all together. It would be worth getting a fireproof safe from WalMart or Home Depot to keep docs like that it; it can save you more trouble than you know.

Also, if you do suffer a loss, be aware that your insurance company, whoever they are, will try to screw you out of what they owe you. I actually have a friend who suffered Hurricane damage from Hurricane Charley, but her insurance "adjuster" claimed that she only had $2900 worth of damage and her deductible was $3000. How convenient.

She hired the people whose link is below, and not only did they set the "real" price for her losses, but they also made the insurance company pay her back for the two weeks she had to stay in a hotel for lack of electricity, all of her meals that she had to eat out, and all of the meat that she had stored in her deep freeze that was now lost for lack of electricity.

God forbid that anyone should suffer a loss of their property, but if you ever do, these are the people to call: Charles R. Tutwiler and Associates. They are located in Florida, but will travel anywhere in the US. He's even gone back after claims were settled and made the insurance companies pay MORE.

http://www.publicadjuster.com

After you've purchased a policy, print off a page from their website and keep it with your policy; you'll be glad you did!

Answer 4

Those items you mentioned can be covered under a homeowners or renter's policy - BUT will be subject to the deductible (usually over $500). The best way is to insure it on a "Personal Articles Policy" These can have $0 deductible, are inexpensive, and cover against a lot more "perils" then a home/renter policy. (Check out a State Farm Agent!) www.statefarm.com

Answer 5

homeowners, condo owners, and renters insurance all cover those items and you can get special riders if the jewelry or other items are above the policy limits. You can also get off premise theft to cover the laptop being stolen while away

Answer 6

You can get a special rider on the insurance policy (for an additional fee, of course!) to cover items that are worth more than the standard amount your homeowner's insurance will cover.

Answer 7

Stuff that stays at home, like phones (maybe not cell phones!) can be covered on a homeowners or tenant homeowners policy. Stuff like jewelry has to be scheduled on an endorsement, on the same homeowners or tenant homeowners. You can also schedule your laptop on the policy, but you have to declare whether or not you use it for business, so you can have it covered on the proper from.

Cell phones generally aren't cover-able, so you'll just have to be careful with it.

Answer 8

In most states, a personal property policy will have a limit set by you for the value of your things as a whole. You will have a deductible and you specifically list things that are of higher value, although eletronics are usually not listed. Also on most policies in most states, your property is automatically covered on your policy if you are away from home for percentage of the total limit on the policy. For example, if you are at a hotel with your suitcase and it is has your laptop, and other items in it, and is stolen, your policy will automatically cover it. Same thing with items in your vehicle, they will be covered on your property policy.

Answer 9

Safeware is the best insurance for traveling with a laptop.

http://safeware.com/

They also cover other items such as:

- Tablet computers
- Desktop computers
- PDAs
- MP3 players
- Scanners
- Smartphones
- Other peripherals

The premiums are very reasonable as well.

Answer 10

homeowners insurance, get special coverage to cover items beyond the normal deductible.