Scheduling Items on Your Property Policy Could Offer Needed Protection

I noticed on the Patch where $12,000 in jewelry was stolen from a Dacula home.         

Did you realize that jewelry and certain personal property has limited coverage under your policy? Scheduled Personal Property (SPP) is an endorsement to your Homeowners, Renters, Condominium, or Manufactured Home insurance policy. For an additional premium, this provides coverage for loss to some personal and business personal property whose value exceeds the standard coverage available. Items such as fine arts, cameras, golf equipment, musical instruments, firearms, furs, silverware, a stamp or coin collection, deep sea or inland fishing gear are all candidates to be scheduled.

What if you lost a ring at Lake Lanier, but the ring is not scheduled? Is there any coverage? Maybe not. A policy typically provides coverage for all perils, but scheduling something extends coverage to include mysterious disappearance and even chipped stones as well. For things like fine arts, it would include breakage. Think of SPP as extra protection beyond the typical “sudden and accidental” covered losses like fire, windstorm, etc.

Scheduling generally requires an appraisal of the item. The cost for scheduling is generally about $10 for every $1,000 insured. A huge advantage is the option for a $0 deductible. So if your all peril deductible is $1,000, a scheduled item can have a $0 deductible (a big benefit!). Also there won’t be a per item and total claim limit. The amount the item is scheduled for is the maximum payout, which is actual replacement cost (not depreciated).

An alternative to SPP is called Extended Coverage. This increases the underlying limits for certain items without requiring an appraisal. It also provides extended perils, including mysterious disappearance. This is a less expensive option, with the main difference being that Extended Coverage is still subject to a per item and per loss limitation, and the standard all peril deductible on your policy will apply.  

For either option, there are some restrictions concerning where things are located, whether they’re at your home or someone else’s. Also check with your insurer because some items are covered only in North America, while other coverage extends worldwide.