Take The Heartache Out Of Jewellery Loss

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to take stock of the things that are precious to you. Wedding and engagement rings, along with other items of sentimental value, are worn nearly everyday and can be taken for granted. It’s for this very reason that they can be easier to lose or damage.

Churchill Home Insurance analysed their own data to reveal the varied and unusual circumstances which have resulted in claims for lost or damaged wedding, engagement and other valuable rings. And with the average claim totalling £731*, it is easy to see how much heartache a claim for a cherished item can cause – to the bank balance as well as for sentimental reasons.

Jewellery can be covered for accidental loss or damage under personal possessions cover, an optional extension to the Churchill Home Contents Insurance policy.

Martin Scott, Head of Home Insurance at Churchill, says: “Whilst no insurance policy can cover the sentimental value of items such as wedding and engagement rings, we have numerous examples of customers losing valuable jewellery. This shows the importance of adequate insurance cover.”

Churchill’s data also reveals the top ten places that policy-holders lose their rings:

 

Top ten places people lose their rings

1. Out shopping

2. Whilst swimming

3. Somewhere in the home

4. On a beach

5. Down the toilet

6. In the rubbish bin

7. In the pub

8. In the garden

9. On the commute to / from work

10. Whilst removing gloves

Scott continues: “Home-owners might not worry day-to-day about losing their rings and sometimes may even forget they are there. A quick look at our claims data however proves that losing a key item of jewellery is something that could happen at any time”.

 

Some of the quirkiest ring claims from Churchill include:

• A child flushing a ring down the toilet
• A dog swallowing a ring
• Whilst peeling potatoes, a ring was thrown away with the peel
• A ring went through the washing cycle and was damaged
• A policy-holder’s ring was lost when they were at a wedding!

 

Churchill’s top tips in case of a claim:

• Keep some form of substantiation of ownership and value such as receipts
• Get your jewellery valued, periodically update it and advise your insurer
• Keep photographs of your items and keep it with your policy
• Keep items that you aren’t wearing in a safe place or even in a locked compartment such as a safe
• If your jewellery is lost or stolen, tell your insurer immediately

 

Notes to Editors:

*based on home claims made between Aug – Oct 05

 

Case studies are available including:

• A woman who lost her diamond engagement ring in a haystack
• A policyholder who lost a stone from their ring whilst on a visit to the theatre
• A woman who noticed she lost the diamond from her ring at the swimming pool

 

For more information please contact:

Abi Clark
Churchill Insurance
020 8313 5830
pressreleases@churchill.com