WHAT IS SCHEDULED PROPERTY? It is a special type of insurance that extends the limits of coverage beyond your Homeowners or Renters policy. This offers extended coverage of high-value property if it is stolen, lost or damaged.
FROM AN AGENT: “One of our clients lost her wedding ring in the sink while cutting vegetables. Before she realized where it had gone, she turned on the garbage disposal and destroyed her ring. All she was able to recover was the mangled band. Every diamond stone was lost forever. But because it was covered as scheduled property, she received payment for the appraised value.” -Becky Anderson, Personal Lines Account Manager
WHAT CAN BE SCHEDULED? Each company will have different coverage limits for personal property included in each Homeowners’ policy. Often, these limits are too low to cover high-value items such as jewelry, guns, art, and collectible coins. Even if an item is covered under your home or rental policy, often the deductible ends up costing you more than what the item was worth. But if it were scheduled, these deductibles may not apply. Each company’s own list of items eligible for scheduling varies, but some other items that are scheduled include cameras and electronics, bicycles, sporting equipment, antiques, medical equipment, musical instruments, computers, gold and silverware.
FROM AN AGENT: “We recently had a client report that she lost one of her ½ carat diamond earrings while on an airplane. She had it scheduled, and her insurance carrier paid to replace the earring that was lost.” – Jen Beck, Personal Lines Account Manager
HOW DO I PROVE AN ITEM’S VALUE? Scheduling personal property does require a little extra work and documentation. Insurance companies may require a copy of the bill of sale, or an appraisal confirming current value along with color photos. Additionally, appraisals for certain items are required to be resubmitted if the value changes or at least once every five years. It is important to follow your insurance carrier’s requirements carefully to ensure your items are properly insured.
FROM AN AGENT: “One of our clients has a long list of scheduled property. One item of particular interest to her was a piece of inherited jewelry, passed down through the generations. She had an appraisal done at the time it was first scheduled but, over the years, had it refurbished and repaired which increased its value a great deal. But she never told us about these repairs or increased value until it was too late. One day, she realized she had misplaced it. No amount of searching ever turned it up so she placed a claim against its loss. But because she hadn’t submitted a new appraisal showing the updated value, her insurance carrier only paid out the old value. Moral of this story: communicate with your agent any time the value changes and have new appraisals done every five years or less.” – Jolene Lust, Personal Lines Account Executive
HOW MUCH DOES SCHEDULED PROPERTY POLICIES COST? Scheduled property does end up costing you a little more, but the cost is minimal compared to replacing high valued items out-of-pocket if they weren’t scheduled. A good standard is to expect it to cost around $10 in annual fees per $1,000 of the item’s value. For example, if you schedule a coin or stamp collection for $10,000, it might cost around $100 each year to keep it scheduled.
FROM AN AGENT: “I had a client who brought four rifles on a hunting trip. He had placed them in the trunk of his car overnight. The following morning, he found that they had all been stolen. He did not have them scheduled and his homeowner’s theft coverage limit was nowhere near the cost to replace the guns. He has every gun scheduled now.” – Becky Anderson, Personal Lines Manager
Reliable Agency staff can walk you through this process. Call to make an appointment with your Reliable agent to discuss what option you have. Don’t be left empty-handed in the event of a loss.
