When we prepare an international property insurance quote for our clients, we need to determine the total value of insurance to provide in each class below:

• Total Value of Regular Property (furniture+clothing+electronics+microwave+socks+toys, etc)
• Total Value of Valuable Articles or what is called international scheduled property

There is a tremendous amount of confusion as to what constitutes a "valuable article." Just because an item is expensive does not mean it has to be classified as a valuable article? The slogan above concerning the shopping mall does not apply to jewelry worth over $1,000 per piece which certainly can be bought in a mall or department store.

These items below are lumped in with "regular property" and not considered valuable articles for insurance quote purposes:

1. A $6,000 mountain bike is regular property
2. A $10,000 stereo surround sound system is not a valuable article
3. A $9,000 leather couch and chair is not a valuable article
4. A top-of-the-line computer and laser printer worth $8,500 is not a valuable article

These items ARE valuable articles and in order to be insured for over $1,000 they need to be appraised and "scheduled" to their full value.

1. An antique spoon set with an appraised value of $1,500.
2. A new china and plate collection bought for $8,000 last year that came with an appraised value with the sales receipt.
3. A unique painting with an appraised value of $3,000
4. A diamond ring with an appraised value of $2,200
5. A Rolex watch worth $3,300

As you can see, the value of the regular property IS MORE THAN the value of the valuable articles in this example !

A "valuable article" without an appraised value is not treated as a valuable article and at best, can be insured for up to $1,000 USD if included under the regular property total. In the global property and global liability business, the number on reason for customer complaints stem from valuable articles. A person has a claim, and asks for full value reimbursement for unique items that should have an appraisal. Instead of the $5,000 they may be expecting, they get a check for $1,000 or less because the item was never appraised and "scheduled" with the insurance company. Don't let this happen to you.

For items worth over $5,000 you will need to have a valid appraisal for the valuable. An appraisal is not a "hassle" and something you need to do for an insurance company. An appraisal for a valuable article internationally should be essential for anyone with an item worth over $5,000 and something you need to own for that item to prove it's worth for a variety of future uses (like shipping for example).

What is a valid appraisal? First, an appraisal is NOT a sales receipt or something given to you when you bought the item (unless it's specifically an appraisal!) A valid appraisal...

1. Stands alone and almost always says "appraisal" or "appraisal of value" on the document.
2. Is signed by the individual giving the appraisal and clearly shows the business behind the appraisal. Good appraisals show the title of the person giving the appraisal "certified gemologist" or example.
3. An appraisal is dated.
4. An appraisal clearly describes the item in detail. It does not say "diamond ring, $2,000 US" but describes the gold content of the band, the setting, the number of carrots, and other things that determine value.
5. An appraisal given to you when the item was bought, and given by the seller must do all of the above very well or it can be rejected because a seller can rarely provide a valid appraisal (too much conflict of interest). No seller is going to sell you something for $5,000 and appraise it for $3,000. Just because they sold it to you for $5,000 does not mean it's actually worth $5,000!

Under this program, a valuable article cannot be insured by itself without Lloyd's also insuring all the regular property.

We get approached at least once a week by someone that wants to "just insure a diamond ring internationally." This is impossible. If you insure say $50,000 of regular property with us and also have your international personal liability insurance with us too, we can then insure the valuable articles you need to.

IPI serves clients for other insurance coverage as well. For example, please contact us through McKinley International for international workers compensation insurance or kidnap and ransom insurance.