Jewellery Insurance Scams and Rogue Traders - The Hall Of Shame

Yes - here it is ... the hall of shame.  Insurance companies who try to get out of paying their insured customers or simply fob them off with vouchers/spend cards/etc for shops they don't even like, rogue traders who prey on the unsuspecting customers and give them terrible products or service. Here goes

Jewellery Insurance - the things, or people, to watch out for:

1. It has to be Norwich Union - to be fair to them, they are the biggest insurer so its more likely that you are going to hear more bad things about them simply as a percent of their business
   - my advice; just make sure you read your policy and ask questions if necessary
2. iVal - this is the company that is used by many of the larger insurers to assess the loss (ie value the lost jewellery for insurance payouts AFTER the loss). If you have something by an artist who is collectible and thus the jewellery has a value above and beyond the intrinsic value of the components, these guys are going to really upset you. On several occasions they also have appeared to be less than capable of valuing the most basic high street stock
   - my advice; just make sure you find someone to value your loss who understands what it is that you have lost.
3. Barclays for using an internet only seller to replace clients lost jewellery ... what can I say !!
4. Goldsmiths the jewellers - a well respected company on the high street - for owning iVal - clearly a conflict of interests there since many of the vouchers handed out by insurers are for Goldsmiths.  Hmmmm!!
5. The NAG (National Association of Goldsmiths) Institute of Registered Valuers - For all their huffing and puffing and claiming that they are THE valuation experts, they really don't know what they are doing with soooo many things. We have been utterly horrified by some of their valuations.
   My advice; get your jewellery valued by experts for the type of jewellery you have and don't rely on NAG's registered valuers, even though they are endorsed by most insurance companies - not that such an endorsement carries any weight given the way the insurers behave most of the time.
6. Gem Labs are supposed to be impartial?  Tsch - what about Harold Weinstein Ltd who confirm what we are saying above; only they think its OK - Eh?? See this link .  To my mind, if you insure a piece for £5000 then that is its value - why are you offered £2000 in cash? 
   My advice - about this issue?  Well - I really don't know what to say other than go with a specialist insurer who will actually pay out properly; that's if you can find one.  If you do have a bespoke made ring, then the insurer is actually obliged to get the ring made by the same jeweller if they are still working due to copyright and quality reasons so don;t let them fob you off if this is the case (NB your valuation must state it is a bespoke made piece)
7. Recently Axa who claim to be using specialist experts to accurately replace your bespoke made lost jewellery ... our research suggests otherwise