Safeguard insurance valuations

[Diamond Diva]

Hi

Can any one give me some feedback on Safeguard?

A while ago on this forum someone suggested using them for insurance valuations, has anyone had any personnel experience of them, is it better to use their suggested jewellers or send items to the Assay Office?

thanks

 

[gemcherub]

Have a look around their website http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/safeguard/index.html i'm sure i read on there a while ago you can sent your items direct to the now, there is a forum you download and fill out and send with your jewellery.

 

[Pinkpussycat]

I think they are very expensive.

 

[reddwarf]

I think they are expensive and tend to overvalue your items. I bought a cheap diamond ring, naff diamonds but the style went so well with a bracelet that I have I bought it anyway for about £200, Safeguard sent back a valuation of £1,100 and there was no way it would ever be worth that, not even as an OTT insurance job.

I've had other items done with exactly the same result, although when they tell you something is bad....you know it must be dreadful as they tend to generally be so forgiving.

 

[Diamond Diva]

Does anyone know what Safeguards fixed price cost is? I normally have mine done at a good local jewellers but as the cost is a percentage of the overall valuation its quiet expensive and I wonder if this could be an influence to ncrease their fee? There's no point in having a highly inflated valuation which unnecessarily increases my insurance premiums. I just want valuations that aren't either unrealistically overvalued or that are undervalued because they don't like the competition from shopping channels without being too expensive, does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

thanks:thinking:

 

[Pinkpussycat]

£55 for the first item and then £37 for subsequent items, I think.

 

[Meeshoo]

I pay £45 for the first item and £35 for everything else (but I haven't had anything valued for a while so it may have changed).

I've used tons of places for valuations i.e. local big jewellers, small jewellers, Outwork, etc. In my experience, jewellers don't have experience to value anything realistically other than diamonds. If you have a very fine Alexandrite for example, they'll give you wild guestimates! Safeguard have valuers who see a much larger range of gemstones than "normal" in house jewellers or valuers and have access to current prices.

With Safeguard they work with up to date price per carat rules. So for example, if a Ruby is £X per carat it will then have a range for exceptionally fine, fine, ok, poor etc (my words not theirs). They can therefore figure out a replacement value for your stone based on market rates. Then they add in the goldweight and again, work out the replcement cost as £ per gram weight at today's value. Accent stones they do the same with and then they add in a mark up for a jeweller having to make an item from scratch. That gives you the overall replacement valuation. It's not an indication of worth which would be something different altogether!

The good thing about using Safeguard (and I hope KB will chime in and confirm) is that they are highly thought of in the industry as being accurate. That being said, most insurers will very rarely want to question a Safeguard valuation. They will quite often question a valuation from a jeweller if it's too high and may ask for second opinions, delaying any claim you may have.

The other thing that Safeguard offer for free is a marking of your item. They "hallmark" a code by punching into the gold and this is then registered on their database. So if you lose an item and it's found, it can be traced back to you.

You can send items to Safeguard or you can go to one of their valuation days where their valuers go into high street jewellers. The price is the same I think - but check that out because I'm not certain.

Are Safeguard expensive? Yes. I only use them for items over £x amount. In fact, I only insure items that are worth over £x because otherwise I'd be paying through the nose.

Something else to bear in mind ....... they also have access to the latest information on treatments of gemstones which is incredibly important in giving valuations. Local jewellers will have little knowledge and perhaps not up to date.


Hope that helps.

 

[Diamond Diva]

Thanks for that Meeshoo, much appreciated very useful information

 

[Klosblue]

Whilst they are not cheap, I totally agree with Meeshoo. What you are getting for your money is a totally independent valuation based on fact and not just a number pulled out of the air. Some High Street jewellers will deliberately make you feel like a fool for buying from TV channels when in fact it's all down to them being unable to compete with the likes of TJC!

As far as Valuations are concerned, for insurance purposes the valuation is what it would cost to replace the item and not what the item is worth. Say for example you bought a ring from TJC and it cost you £500. You get a valuation (to replace) of £1500 but the insurance company can get exactly the same ring from TJC for £500 then it wouldn't matter what your valuation said because you would only get the item replaced as that is what insurance is for. It's designed to put you back in the position you were in and should never make you better off! However, if the insurance company couldn't replace your ring like for like and they had to get a jeweller to make one to the exact specifications then it could easily cost the £1500 because it's a one off and not a mass produced item.

Sadly too many people think that a jewellery valuation of say three times what they paid means it's worth three times what they paid! Unfortunately that's not correct otherwise a lot of people would be buying items and then 'losing' them and make a tidy profit!

 

[reddwarf]

Whatever way you look at it then it is a stitch-up. My item that cost approx £200 with the £1,100 valuation, if I add this to my insurance then I am paying for an £1,100 item to be insured, this will be reflected in the premium.

That said, the insurance company wouldn't actually seek to replace this item themselves, they would give me an allowance to spend at a jeweller for an item of similar spec and this happened to a friend of mine after a burglary.

Even if I held out for an exact replica of the ring there is no way on this earth it would cost £1,100 to reproduce and I doubt my insurance would entertain this, they would just expect me to find something as close to it as possible.

I've had several items done with Safeguard and about 75% def fall into this category.

 

[Beady Belle]

I've only had my Tanzanite's valued by Safeguard, and I was very impressed with the guy who did it. He didn't overvalue it (IMO), but gave a very realistic replacement price, I questioned him about the colour and cut, both of which he said were very good.

I also don't bother to get everything valued, as our insurance will cover up to a certain value without requiring a separate valuation certificate, but I felt with my tanzanites, that high street jewellers would not have the expertise or would look down on my 'shopping telly' purchases, so was happy to pay. I think when I had it done it was about £60 for both items, but that was some while ago. The other good thing about a Safeguard valuation is that they give you 2 copies of the certificate, so you can send an 'original' to your insurance company and still have an 'original' copy for your files.

 

[Klosblue]

Whatever way you look at it then it is a stitch-up. My item that cost approx £200 with the £1,100 valuation, if I add this to my insurance then I am paying for an £1,100 item to be insured, this will be reflected in the premium.

That said, the insurance company wouldn't actually seek to replace this item themselves, they would give me an allowance to spend at a jeweller for an item of similar spec and this happened to a friend of mine after a burglary.

Even if I held out for an exact replica of the ring there is no way on this earth it would cost £1,100 to reproduce and I doubt my insurance would entertain this, they would just expect me to find something as close to it as possible.

I've had several items done with Safeguard and about 75% def fall into this category.

As an Underwriting Manager with Britain's largest insurance company, I can only tell you what the norm is throught the industry.

Most good Home Insurance policies have a Single Article Limit of at least £2500 for Valuables/High Risk Items which means you would not specify any item below this figure and therefore do not need a valuation. What you would need would be proof that you did actually own the item - a receipt or even a photograph of you wearing it. (The only problem with a photograph however is that there is no way of telling the quality of the gemstones - eg are they SI diamonds or VS Diamonds?) You are therefore not paying an additional premium for any item below the Single Article Limit on your policy and there is no need whatsoever to have lower value items valued.

With regards to the Insurance Company not seeking to replace the item themselves - sorry but that is incorrect. Insurance Companies have close relationships with companies with whom they call their approved suppliers. In the first instance they would try to replace the item themselves through one of their approved suppliers. Only in certain circumstances would they offer a cash settlement which would always be equal to or less than the amout they would pay to their approved supplier to replace the item.

As I said previously, insurance is designed to put you back into the position you were in prior to the event happening - not better off or worse off. If you had a more valuable piece specified on your policy and had a valuation for that piece then in the event of a claim the insurance company would have to replace the item to the specification on the valuation as you will have been paying premiums accordingly.

 

[Meeshoo]

RD I fully understand your point and what I always struggle with is that if an item is valued at £1,000, the payout from the insurance company may not be £1,000 because the insurer may be able to purchase the same item for much less BUT the customer has been paying premiums on the higher amount. This is precisely why I only insure those items that are over my single article limit OR have a sentimental value OR have been valued as being "unreplaceable" i.e. an antique piece.

I'm sorry that your opinion of Safeguard isn't good. All I can say is that mine is entirely different and I can promise you I wouldn't ever go to somebody who over-valued (or under-valued). By way of an example, I once had a Tanzanite piece valued by Stanleys in Birmingham. At that time they used to value each piece for £5 and didn't even want to see the item (just the GemsTV card). So that tells you something right there! Anyway, they valued it for what I knew was a ridiculous amount. I later had the same piece valued by Safeguard and it came back as thousands less (but a much more realistic amount)!!!

I also once went into a jewellers who advertised doing valuations. He said to me, after examining my ring, "how much do you want me to put on this?". Great! Nothing thanks, I don't want the valuation!

If I were you, I'd most definitely ask Safeguard how they arrived at your valuation (especially as you're unhappy with it). It's no good if there's a valuer over-appraising or you've paid for a service you're not comfortable with.

Just my opinion but I wouldn't ever insure jewellery unless it was an old for new policy and I certainly wouldn't accept a voucher to buy something from a rip off High Street jewellers!

 

[reddwarf]

With regards to the Insurance Company not seeking to replace the item themselves - sorry but that is incorrect. Insurance Companies have close relationships with companies with whom they call their approved suppliers. In the first instance they would try to replace the item themselves through one of their approved suppliers. Only in certain circumstances would they offer a cash settlement which would always be equal to or less than the amout they would pay to their approved supplier to replace the item.

This is not what happened regarding my friend that claimed, she could choose a jeweller and they gave her an amount to spend there, they didn't even attempt to replace her items themselves.

Plus the item that I used as an example isn't on my policy, all the items that are listed are well over the £2500. My smaller value items are grouped together and the limit we have agreed with our insurer covers them.

And Meeshoo, you are right, I feel only the insurance companies really ever win. :happy: But the item I refered too was about 8 years ago so little point chasing them up now, I generally just keep all my receipts and docs that come with my jewellery which hopefully I will never need for a claim. :sweat:

 

[Klosblue]

This is not what happened regarding my friend that claimed, she could choose a jeweller and they gave her an amount to spend there, they didn't even attempt to replace her items themselves.

I did say "only in certain circumstances would they offer a cash settlement .........." There are the occasional times when that may happen for various reasons.

With regards to your comment that only the insurance companies ever win - how much do they win when someone has paid say £500 for their buildings insurance then have a flood claim for £500,000? Yes, that does happen!

 

[Meeshoo]

This is not what happened regarding my friend that claimed, she could choose a jeweller and they gave her an amount to spend there, they didn't even attempt to replace her items themselves.

Plus the item that I used as an example isn't on my policy, all the items that are listed are well over the £2500. My smaller value items are grouped together and the limit we have agreed with our insurer covers them.

And Meeshoo, you are right, I feel only the insurance companies really ever win. :happy: But the item I refered too was about 8 years ago so little point chasing them up now, I generally just keep all my receipts and docs that come with my jewellery which hopefully I will never need for a claim. :sweat:

I think most insurers have preferred replacement suppliers. I don't think they ever replace the items themselves but go to their suppliers for that. When I lost a high value ring 2 years ago I was offered the choice of going to a selection of High Street retailers but I politely declined and produced an invoice from a company whom I knew would give me the best value for money and not over-inflated prices!!! It's most unusual that an insurer will allow a client to buy from anywhere they please so I'm intrigued! Would you mind asking your friend who the insurer was because if this is offered then it's most definitely worth investigating!

Edit: Think we were all posting at the same time! lol Just a thought but I do know that cash settlements are made where the item is irreplaceable. A number of my antique pieces have been described by Safeguard as such. I can't remember the code they put on the valuation but it's described in the accompanying blurb and I think this is when insurers give the cash because they can't replace the item.

 

[reddwarf]

I did say "only in certain circumstances would they offer a cash settlement .........." There are the occasional times when that may happen for various reasons.

With regards to your comment that only the insurance companies ever win - how much do they win when someone has paid say £500 for their buildings insurance then have a flood claim for £500,000? Yes, that does happen!

Hahaha, you will be telling me they don't make a profit next!

 

[reddwarf]

I think most insurers have preferred replacement suppliers. I don't think they ever replace the items themselves but go to their suppliers for that. When I lost a high value ring 2 years ago I was offered the choice of going to a selection of High Street retailers but I politely declined and produced an invoice from a company whom I knew would give me the best value for money and not over-inflated prices!!! It's most unusual that an insurer will allow a client to buy from anywhere they please so I'm intrigued! Would you mind asking your friend who the insurer was because if this is offered then it's most definitely worth investigating!

I will when I see her next, although I don't want to mislead you, they didn't give her the cash, she chose a jeweller, one we both use and the insurance company delt direct with them to the agreed amount. Sorry, re-read my other post and it probably sounded like they gave her the dosh direct LOL

She had lost quite a few items in one go and rather than replace each one individually she had one huge ring to the value of the lot. :sun:

 

[Meeshoo]

I will when I see her next, although I don't want to mislead you, they didn't give her cash, she chose a jeweller, one we both use and the insurance company delt direct with them.

She had lost quite a few items in one go and rather than replace each one individually she had one huge ring to the value of the lot. :sun:

Oooooh nice! Sounds like a good deal and the best of a bad situation.

 

[reddwarf]

Heehee, yes, she decided rather than have lots hanging around to just get something she could wear all the time. It really rattled her to get burgled and made her a bit paranoid about it happening again. I didn't dare make any mugging jokes after that :cheeky: