Insurance claim - engagement ring

rgunning

Hiya,

The missus just lost her engagement ring, which is a bit of a bummer but we are over the "her crying" stage and now have the claim it back. We had it evaluated in Ireland and put it on the house insurance policy specifically, for the evaluation value, let's say €X,000

Now, the claims adjuster came out to chat with the missus. They went through the whole thing. He first claimed that the evaluation always over estimates the value of the jewlery so he wants to see the receipt for the amount I paid for it.

Now, I paid €Y,000 for it, which was not really the cost for the ring as:
a) It was bought in dollars, and that rate has gone off since then
b) I bought it in Antwerp and was put through by a friend who got me a good discount, which I am not going to get a second time
c) I really searched all over and there is accom and travel to be included in this cost.

I also don't really want the missus to know how much I paid for it, and she doesn't want to know herself. If she gets the cash value of what I paid for it, she would never be able to replace the ring - the only thing she really wants to do. It is a very rare type of cut.

So the problem is X >> Y, as in I paid a good bit less than the ring is valued to be. I don't want to rip the insurance company off, but I don't want to go through the long process to find the type of ring again and then have to cough up a few extra thousand quid.

Am I entitled to tell them to replace it or give us the evaluation and do I have to give them the receipt of purchase?

Thanks

IsThatSo?

I thought that the purpose of house insurance was to insure "new for old"? If you named the ring specifically on the policy then surely you were right to insure it at the replacement value? Is there any chance that the claims adjustor is trying to save a few quid for the company?

Tell him its so long since you bought the ring that you don't have the receipt. Maybe if you had some photographs of it you could offer to get the ring independently valued and give him another valuation? Don't go with who he says to use though, he will be trying to save the insurance company money. He works for them, not you.

The above is just opinion, I don't have any experience of this particular situation to be able to advise with certainty. Good luck with it. Don't let them railroad you

Rosser

The purpose of insurance is to return you to the situation you were in prior to the loss not for anyone to turn a book out of it. If they can source you a replacement ring equal to the one lost then you can a) take it or b) take the value equal to one they are providing (because if they can source a replacement at that price so can you)

broker2008

Do you have a photograph of the ring, and any proof of the cut, carat etc ?

Did you use a broker for the set up of the policy ?

I would be fairly confident that with a little pressure the claim would be payable - don't take no for an answer. If you can't call on a broker to help and can't sort out yourself, get your own loss adjustor and he'll fight your corner but you will have to pay a commission, a % of the settled claim amount.

stryker mcqueen

people in his country always think they'll get their way if they " Dont take no for an answer"

in fairness the company should have requested a written valuation from an independent source if the ring is valued higher than 5k well say.

But at the same time they dont have to take your word either.

Regardless of the value they're only gonna pay what you paid , and what you can prove, otherwise you would technically be making a profit ...

broker2008

Well that is what insurance is for ! It is a legitimate claim but it is being disputed. If one doesn't fight their corner, the insurance company probably won't pay the claim or only a portion of it and then everyone would be giving out about insurance and insurance companies.

rgunning

Ring was found! two weeks later and we got it back - phew!

Anyway, the claims adjusters were pretty nice about the whole thing, and were obviously delighted for us to get the ring back.

For the record, I think they would have just paid the insurance value according to the conversation I ended up having with the company.

broker2008

well done. Much better result ! Now get the ring properly valued and insured for that amount.

Hagar

Get more than one valuation.
If you can, get the insurance company to recommend, in writing, a valuer. They would be on thin ice if they refused a valution from a valuer they recommended.

Toots

Hagar wrote: »

Get more than one valuation.
If you can, get the insurance company to recommend, in writing, a valuer. They would be on thin ice if they refused a valution from a valuer they recommended.

Good advice there!! Delighted to hear the ring turned up, you must both be thrilled!

jordan.kellie

hi there
i have too recently lost my engagement ring, its included on my home insurance for the full value it was bought for and i have the recepts for it

My only question is, can i put in a claim if i lost the ring in my own home myself and cannot find it anywhere?? or does this only apply for burgalaries and thieft?