Reply With QuoteGenerally on the forum the consensus seems to be below 15k per item M&S, above 15k per item Hiscox. Sometimes NFU is also mentioned.
My watches are insured as specified items on my household policy but I'm hoping to add a bigger piece soon & wondered if anyone could suggest a reputable company that would cover me for wearing it inside the house & outside.
Many thanks,
Generally on the forum the consensus seems to be below 15k per item M&S, above 15k per item Hiscox. Sometimes NFU is also mentioned.
Thanks, ideally I'll be arranging cover so that I'm covered the minute I leave the AD.
If you carry the watch out of the AD in its box, you will not be covered. You will only be covered if you actually wear the watch. Don't insure with anyone until you have read the schedule.
Agreed, M&S works perfectly for me.
Axa for me.
The website was very good for allowing you to increase the limits for jewellery/ watches without needing to specify every single item.
AXA for me. Can adapt level. I have the max that covers an individual items to £15K each in or outside (all risks), total valuables to 30K. No need to specify items so can buy / sell at will.
Hmmm, not sure about that?Originally Posted by Mick P
However, just to be clear, I’m not a watch insurance expert... but when I collected my last new purchase, I was most definitely covered for the watch I was wearing and the watch I had just bought, as long as neither were above £15k and I hadn’t left them unattended.
As a side note I always bring an old bay for life or backpack to the AD for watch collection day. Last thing you want to do is walk around down with one of their bags on display. You wouldn't walk around with £10k in a NatWest branded bag (let alone trust their handles). I always try to wear a low value watch if I collect or worst case wear both or put the lesser value one in the backpack.
Definitely. I picked up my DJ41 from WoS in an old Berghaus daysack, wearing a CWC RN Diver. I plan to do the same when the time comes...
Totally agree. Our local AD now offers a plain paper bag option instead of their fancy, logo’d up, ‘I’m carrying several thousands of pounds around with me’, bags!
On the original question, I’m not an expert but know someone who is. She arranges insurance for lots of clients with large watch collections, amongst other things. The best option seems to be a household insurance policy that can be tailored to cover all risks and values. They aren’t cheap but you tend to get what you pay for in the insurance market.
Allianz used to offer a really good product via their direct sales but I think they’re only available through brokers nowadays. Although compare the market, etc have their place, as soon as you start to veer even slightly away from the standard options, it all goes to pot. A broker can help a lot. I know I’m biased in saying that, given what I’ve said above but I honestly believe it’s worth asking someone who does this stuff day-in, day-out to help you when it comes to specialist insurance.
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Nearly every UK based insurance company will only pay out if you are wearing the watch. The easy answer is to check your policy.
Point to note, pretty sure M&S is underwritten by AXA.
Otherwise, nothing more to add to the above. We also have a fixed TOTAL limit of £25k or £30k in total for valuable items, so that is often a sticking point if you have a large collection or high value item.
After purchasing a watch beyond the single item limit of my previous insurer, I changed my insurance to M&S which would cover it and set it to begin on the day I collected the watch from the dealer. I then wore no watch to collect (!) and wore the purchased watch on the way out with the box and documents in an old supermarket bag for life which seemed a sensible way to do things to me.
Glad this isn't just me being paranoid.
Bought an engagement ring and the jewellers looked aghast as I decanted the fancy logo covered box's contents into my rucksack!
You may be right about nearly every UK based insurance company, I don’t know... but that’s not what you said. You seemed to have got your maybes, mights and possibles confused with your absolutely stone cold will nots?
I think it’s important that the OP gets some real life, fact based feedback as he requested, from policy holders if possible and two of what seem to be amongst the most popular choices here from what I can see (M&S and AXA), appear to cover up to 15k individual and 30k total out of the house, without stating you have to be wearing your watch on your wrist.
Anyhoo, I’m not even sure why that sweeping statement of incorrect fact even struck a nerve with me?
As you were...
OP, I’m sure with some follow up from suggestions here you will find something to suit your needs. I’d suggest calling whoever you want to try for peace of mind.
This is an urban myth. The easiest way to confirm that this is an urban myth is to check your policy.
If it's a standard household contents policy, then it'll probably cover the contents of your home against 'all risks', i.e. anything that isn't excluded. Cover for 'valuables' - jewellery, watches and so on - might be excluded or limited unless they're specified on the policy, but I don't think you'll find a condition that says your watch isn't covered unless you're wearing it.
The key thing is that a contents policy covers just that - the contents of your home. Cover is usually excluded or at best extremely restricted for things that aren't in your home - especially valuables. Usually, you have to extend the policy to cover personal possessions / valuables away from the home, specifying how much cover you want. Typically this will extend the cover to include the items whilst they're 'with you' anywhere in the world.
It's a mistake to assume that your household policy covers your watch whilst it's out of the home - whether on your wrist or not - even if you've specified it on the policy.
Again you need to read your policy in detail and familiarise yourself with the jargon.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am talking about expensive jewellery that needs to be specified in the policy.
The problem with expensive watches is that they make household insurance policies too risky because watches are small and easily lost and a target for thieves. To overcome this, insurers attach a few get out clauses.
You are covered when wearing the watch, either on your wrist or in your pocket. If you carry it in a bag, you are not insured for a specified watch. So to take it to its ultimate conclusion. if you were carrying a man bag that contained a Rolex and an expensive fountain pen, you would not be paid for the watch but you would be paid for the pen because its not specified.
I have 5 Rolex and my wife has 1 and they are all specified. I learn to live with the conditions of the policy and at least I know the exclusions.
As someone who spent 20 years in the insurance industry, I read my policies very carefully, and I'm pretty familiar with the 'jargon'.
On most ordinary home insurance policies, 'valuables' such as watches are generally covered as standard, subject to an overall limit and a single-item limit. They usually need to be declared and specified on the policy individually if their value exceeds the single-item limit, if you want the insurer to pay more than that limit in the event of a claim. Typically this increases the premium.
However, it's important to realise that just because it's specified this way - to avoid it falling foul of the single-item limit - it doesn't follow that an item's covered when it's outside the home, whether you happen to be wearing it or not. Check your policy - the standard cover provided is almost always along the lines of "loss or damage to contents at the home...".
It's usually necessary to extend the cover to protect things that are away from the home - typically the policy definition of such extended cover will come under a heading like "Contents away from home section" where it will say something like "This section only applies when shown on your Schedule". In other words, it only applies when you have specifically requested and paid for it and (probably) declared either the particular items you want covered away from the home, or how much cover you want, or both. So check your schedule.
This extended cover will usually be along the lines of "loss or damage to your contents when they are temporarily away from your home anywhere in the world". There are generally exclusions to this, but I haven't seen one that mentions watches that aren't being worn. My own policy (M&S, from which incidentally the above clauses are quoted) provides cover under this section even for valuables stolen from an unattended car, so long as they were out of sight.
The point is that just because you tell your insurers that you have five expensive watches and they're specified on the policy, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're covered outside your home. For this, you have to specifically request - and pay for - extended cover for contents away from home. If you do, it's very unlikely that you'll find an exclusion or condition that says you have to be wearing the item for it to be covered.
Finally, don't confuse this with the cover provided for "Contents temporarily removed from the home" which is something quite different and very precisely defined.
I normally CBA to argue the toss with armchair experts on here, but I think this is important - I wonder how many people are walking around with thousands of quid strapped to their wrists believing they're insured when they're not.
Thanks to everyone for their replies, all most informative.
I'm hoping to get my dream piece & want to be sure I'm covered to wear it every day, at home & at large from the moment I leave the AD.
I'll be looking at the companies recommended & see which ones can meet what I need.
To help the OP:
I have Axa HomeSafe Insurance for buildings / contents and personal possessions cover away from home
For personal possessions cover away from home (this includes valuables / watches) up to £15000 for any one item and up to £30000 total - no need to specify the item and it/they is/are insured, as long as in the possession of the insured (and in other places like a locked car etc - see policy for details) - no mention of being on a wrist.
In any case - as mentioned - do check with the insurance company if in any doubt.
I am thinking of changing insurer soon so interested to hear further about this.
If you have a collection of 32k worth of watches for example and one watch is stolen assume that is covered...I guess as long as you do not have more than 30k worth stolen at one time you are fine? So in theory you could have any amount of watches, just that only 30k would be covered in any one claim?
Given you don't need to specify the watches, assume this is how it works?
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Thread revival as a timely topic for me so any knowledgeable input would be valued.
It would appear sensible that the insurer only cover the first £30k of losses if actual losses were greater but it seems that some would also want to know the full value of your collection as they don't like you being under insured at all, presumably because that can increase the risk from their perspective for the amount insured.
It's also necessary to include everything in a valuation of the home contents, at new for old replacement cost, to ensure contents cover is adequate, even if you're happy for items to be uninsured because they are over the unspecified item limit for your policy. My insurer wouldn't exclude items even if they were knowingly not covered or insured separately with another insurer.
Can anyone recommend a good broker for home insurance? The popular online comparison sites are of limited value once you have an expensive watch or two so I'd prefer to speak with an insurance professional who knows their stuff and had access to a wide range of companies.
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