Reply With QuoteIf your home insurers will provide adequate cover, theirs will commonly offer the best value.Originally Posted by figureeight
Watch insurance?
With all the recent news of audacious daylight robbery and given I live about a 30 second walk from Upper Street have led me to think perhaps I ought to get some decent watch insurance. Have got a quote from my home insurance provider which seems to be about half as expensive as the specialist providers I've found, oddly enough. Not sure what the catch is yet.
Does anyone have any recommendations / want to share their experiences?
If your home insurers will provide adequate cover, theirs will commonly offer the best value.
Strange though it might seem, take a look at M&S. Their Premier Contents Policy is excellent and you don't have to declare individual items.
Simon
I also live just off Upper street and had my Sub stolen last year so I would defiantly suggest you do have cover.
Did you have your insured?
I've also been thinking about this approach also.
I went with M & S. Will cover up to 50k of valuables on their premier one and 25k away from the home. Unlimited B & C.
P.S. I think you can go for 50k away from home as well.
Sorry to hijack your thread, but can anyone recommend an insurer who does more than a £15,000 single item limit when adding watches to a buildings & contents insurance?
Currently with M&S but they won't cover any watch worth over £15,000 on its own, and to insure the watch on its own is approx £1500/year with TH March which I find a bit excessive...
You need to look at their maximum cover for one individual item, they often cap it to 5k or 10k
Yes it was insured through TH March at the time who were very good.
I now have everything covered under the home insurance policy.
Quite worrying! Can you share any of the details of how it happened? Standard moped thuggers?
Interesting - thanks, will take a look at them. Didn't even know they did insurance.
John Lewis home insurance for me. Added my Hulk and it cost about £80 pa for home and away from home cover. Based in North London.
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I had basically been out with friends for a few drinks, have a couple more than normal and walking home got struck from behind with something and basically the watch ripped from my wrist.
Should of added it was a group/ gang with some of them on push bikes.
My bank card was also stolen and used around the De Beauvoir estate so possible the gang came from around the area.
Last edited by boring_sandwich; 5th June 2018 at 13:16.
Blimey, sorry to hear that. Scary stuff. Hopefully it all got sorted smoothly by your insurer.
Yes all sorted now, although I am always very alert now when out, and always flag down a cab if out in the area late even though sometimes it takes longer than walking.
It occurred on the road just behind Islington Town Hall.
Another recommendation for M&S, our renewal came through yesterday.
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Not good
Do you think you were targeted for the watch or they just got lucky?
Edit: will bow to superior knowledge that they aren't sold on for a couple of hundred by the scum.
Last edited by Hood; 5th June 2018 at 14:19.
I really don’t know to be honest.
Thanks to this thread I have just insured the contents in my flat and my watches out of the flat for the first time. Absolutely worth it.
M&S Premier, covering an unlimited amount of property in the flat, with a max individual item price of £15k, and up to £8k total gear when I go out, for £314-odd.
I'm happy.
Thanks for the recommendations guys.
i re-insured my home contents in April. No an insignificant amount insured with Hiscox. After a bit of argie-barge, cut my unlimited house insurance down by 33% by raising excess to £2500 from £500.
Part of of the conversation was on the home contents/watch split. Hiscox see risk in watches as apposed to high/higher value home contents because gear is on show out in the wild.
No no issue with anything less than £15k, +£15k by underwriter agreement. Collections above £70k, no issue - just inform them of total value. Collections +£70k, again by u/w agreement and start looking at enhanced security measures (safe/alarm/additional locks etc). Reckon £5k watch is circa £65/year to add on to you contents policy if you expand you collection.
Thanks for the heads up. Just spoke to Hiscox and tried to get a quote online, but they said they don't provide cover in my area. Never mind! Back to the drawing board.
Please dont take this the wrong way but "dont cover your area" comment is a bit like saying "we dont like the cut of your jib matey". Part of the protracted discussions I had with them at renewal (silly premium increases on moving to what I perceive as a lower risk flat, alarmed, gate security etc.. i.e. price gouging) is I think they are trying to move upmarket with "select customers" (i.e low risk mugs). I doubt my profile/area would qualify either but I've been with them a few years with a no-claim record. Their policy still works for me and very few if any do...so comprehensively and therefore tolerated. However, as you say back to the drawing board and dont sweat it.
As always, one assumes one has adequate insurance cover.......right up to the point where you actually need it.
AXA.
try them
Surprising! I wonder why they keep such a narrow net
So hiscox and ms premium both insure up to 15k items without listing them?
Probably along the lines of car insurance, they don’t like certain areas as they think the risk profile is too high.
Also possible (but unlikely) that they also don’t want to have too much of a risk profile in a certain area (not necessarily location, but also in type of insurance sold. Insurers tend to have risk appetite, and limits so that they don’t risk having a lot of claims from a similar location or types of claims come in costing them potentially a lot of money) usually when this is the case they price it high to effectively rule themselves out.
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That’s exactly what I’m getting at. I’m pretty familiar with insurers and risk books, but weird they didn’t just price it super high rather than a flat-out no. Every risk has a price!
I'm in the process of adding two watches to my home insurance (More Than - come renewal I'll definitely try M&S), and they've asked for valuations for each. That's easy for the new one, but the old one was bought needing a service and a bit of work so have no idea. Anyone had experience getting a valuation from a jewellers?
I’ve got my watches insured on our Axiva home policy.
Very easy and works well for me.
When I tried to insure with Hiscox, many years ago, they would not insure watches outside the home unless they were being worn. No good for me as I cannot wear a watch at night.
Last edited by JeremyO; 5th June 2018 at 18:40.
I have mine insured via home insurance with NFU mutual. Insured for all risks worldwide.
Each item has to be specified (if value over c£2,500 - can't remember exact figure).
The only caveat is that if outside the UK, must be either in possession (i.e. being worn) or kept in a safe. Im OK with that as if I'm outside the UK, I'm generally staying in a hotel with a safe in the room.
Also quite flexible as I can just ring up and update the value with the current RRP. Previous insurers have asked me to obtain written valuations, which AD's want to send the watch away and charge £100+ for. Ridiculous when it's a current model or has a brand new equivalent sitting in the window with a price tag!
Last edited by D4RW1N; 5th June 2018 at 20:05.
Just taken out M&S insurance, and its such better value than the cretins I was with that wanted to share.
M&S inc my watches is 15% cheaper than More Than without the watches - and nearly 50% cheaper than More Than with the watches. And they don't ask for pita valuations of anything older than 3 years!
If it hadn't been for the need to get valuations I probably wouldn't have bothered even getting a quote, so I should thank them really...
I’ve just done my renewal with M&S premier. This will be my 5th year.
One thing to be aware of come renewal time, make sure you get a quote as a new customer. My renewal was £368.
Applying as a new customer and it was £300... every policy detail was identical.
I’ve done this every year, and every year I’ve saved on the renewal price.
Hiscox home insurance are very good
Hiscox insurance renewal came through a few days ago. Wow 40% increase. Many years with them too with small increases.
Altered my home contents insurance to AXA 3 years ago, go to the website and click on their top option, saved a really huge amount over my original insurers and added all my watches. You can increase goods away from home values , I think I put my goods away single claim limit to £30000 or thereabouts.
NFU for me, easy and sensible folk to talk to, all UK based too. I think I had to specify every watch over £2.5k, no messing around with expensive valuations.
I let them deal with all my insurance needs now...cars, motor home, buildings, life etc every thing is a doddle now. No silly annual increases and they actually give me a loyalty discount, my premiums have dropped 5% a year for the 3 years I've been with them - something or insurers (and other service providers) should take note off.
David
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NFU mutual too. Refreshingly straightforward to deal with and good value.
D
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I've just had a quote from M&S premium and it's quoting me 1300 for the year ????
I've had one claim last year for a rad leak and that was only 600 quid.
Don't know whether it's because I'm from Liverpool but I live in a good area ????
Yes - I had similar - seems they may price themselves out the residential market soon - excellent service though. I guess you pay for what you get
Another vote for sticking them in the home insurance, path of least effort...
Just doing the annual home insurance quotes at present. I was going to go with Privilege, who we have been with for the past few years.
When I pumped in the info for two watches over the basic £1500, the on-line quote wouldn't accept the second watch. They are both basic Rolex sports models
I called them up to try & sort it out and in conversation they told me I require proof of value. I have the original receipts and proof of change of ownership etc, however they would not accept them on their own without an up to date valuation. After much discussion, I am not convinced that they would pay out in the event of a claim, so the search is ongoing. Ill try M&S next.
Ecclesiastical are seeming to be a good choice. Don't have to specify any items or jewellery etc under 17k, and if its your thing, art work under 35k.
I just gone with M & S as hiscox added £150 this year and £100 last year, was with them 2 years Contents only cover nearly £1230 ouch what would it be in 5 years lol.
I have a policy with Sovereign - house insurance with a separate value placed on Art, Antiques, Jewellery, and of course watches. They did however have a few stimulations.
A) that items of a certain value Jewellery, Cash, Coins, Watches, need to be kept in an approved safe (or safes).
B) items over a certain value (15k) have to be supported with documentation/photos - it does not need to be an insurance valuation.
C) that I can only claim a maximum of £15k for a single items worn outside the house.
There never asked for alarms systems, but we had those already.
Costs are about £1300/year for about £900k of cover.
Last edited by Andyg; 4th February 2019 at 22:30.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Just be careful of exclusions. even expensive policies have them.
For instance, if you are outside your home, the cover only applies if you are wearing the watch. So if you were on the beach and went for a swim with your watch tucked in a rucksack, you are not covered. So if out of the home, wear it all the time. If you take two or more watches with you when on holiday, the cover only applies to the watch you are wearing. Any watch left in an hotel safe is not covered under your insurance.
Also even when in the home, exclusions often apply. The watches are only insured if they are :-
a) being worn or in the same room as you. Major exclusion is that you leave the watch in say your bedroom whilst taking a shower or whilst down in your dining room eating a meal or watching TV etc. . Also cover will not apply if you left a window open in an unattended room and a burglar entered as a result. This applies even to leaving windows open during really hot weather.
b) locked in an approved safe. If the safe is locked by a key, cover will be void unless the key is hidden or locked away itself. Leaving the key hung up on a key board will void the cover.
These exclusions apply to most policies in UK based insurance companies but the US companies are a bit more lax.
Last edited by Mick P; 5th February 2019 at 11:52.
Goodness, you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you must strictly follow the rules, essentially arbitrary rules which suit the insurance company, not you. ....is it really worth it?
Not to me, i’l wear my watches as I want, when I want, where I want. And in the, statistically unlikely event of a loss, i’l swallow and bear it.
Luxury goods are things we can easily manage without, they are just pricey toys.
Someone paying £900 a year will pay £36,000 in fees over four decades. The insurance companies know very few people will claim anything like that.
Insure things you really can’t do without, such as your home. Don’t fuss about ‘stuff’.
Last edited by paskinner; 5th February 2019 at 13:00.
Only take one watch on holiday.
Dont leave your watch lying around.
Have a combination safe and remember the code.
Not to difficult is it, plus it's does offer a level of peace of mind.
Also the appreciation I have seen in watch values more than funds the insurance premium. But you are right it's only stuff at the end of the day.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
But don't even think of writing the combination code down somewhere, as that can easily void the cover. Also having your birth date as the code will involve serious arguments before payment is made.
I must admit, I am rapidly coming around to self insuring watches.
£900 a year?
You would need to have either a pretty expensive collection, an horrific claims experience or live in downtown Homs etc. to pay anything like that amount to insure watches alone.
For most people doing the sensible thing – sticking them under House insurance – the cost will be circa £50-£65 for every £5,000 insured.
And that’s only for ‘Specified Items’ watches over a certain value, typically circa £2k on a lot of policies (exc. Hiscox, M&S & others) – any valued under that can usually be accommodated ‘Unspecified’ within the general Contents sum insured for much, much less.
I have a half-decent value of watches and they don’t add more than circa £110 to my House Insurance (with Allianz, I think), and I have zero Conditions re safes, constant wearing, alarms, wearing restrictions, valuations etc. and they’re covered away from home, abroad etc.
All it takes is for one moped mugger, a forced gym locker, a really bad drop on a tiled floor, absent-mindedness in a hotel room, or a failed spring bar in the ocean, and it could be a Submariner lost or badly damaged. I know quite a lot of people who’ve suffered serious losses - burglary, mugging, flooding, fires etc. – so for me it’s a prudent step.
Everyone has their own capacity for risk and the level they’re comfortable with retaining - which is absolutely fine, each to their own - but I’m personally happy with the minimal amount I pay to wear my watches with zero worries whatsoever, and no concerns about them whilst away from home.
Thanks for the tip on M&S Premium - got my insurance sorted and managed to make it very cheap by opting for a large excess. Now insured at £264pa, absolutely ideal. No valuations required and no schedule of items required in advance - sounds very user-friendly.
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