Here we discuss "regular" international personal property, why the insurance is needed, and what is the difference between regular property and international valuable articles insurance coverage. Anyone moving more than $10,000 of personal effects to a new country needs to insure those items from loss, like fire or theft. Regular property most often includes clothing, toys, bedding, furniture, and personal electronics like i-pods and laptops.

People will simply tell IPI what they have; "I have, in total, $55,000 of regular property to insure." That is all we need at IPI. We do not need an inventory listing of each item. A valuable article, like an engagement ring, can only be insured if it has a current appraisal for value.

Questions About Insuring Regular Property

How do I determine the value of the personal property I need to insure? How much global property insurance do I need? This can be accomplished in a few ways. Perhaps you used a moving company to ship your property to your new host country and they assigned a value before they moved the items? Most people we work with take a personal inventory of their possessions and assign a value for us, or we can work with you to do this. The average client we deal with is insuring $50,000 USD of regular property but we have clients insured for $200,000 or more of regular property.

Looking at the three items above, the stero receiver may cost $4,000.. it's still just regular property. The diamond needs to be insured on the side as a valuable article and is not lumped into the regular property total. The camera is regular property not a valuable article and becomes part of the total.

The leather couch here may be hand signed by Armani and cost $12,000 but it's still regular property and not a valuable article. A couch is not something that normally requires an appraisal to be insured. Include the $12,000 in your lump sum total for regular property to insure.

We can pay claims in many currencies but the tracking benchmark for the insurance policy is U.S. Dollars.

Do I include expensive pieces of furniture, laptops, and my $2,200 television in my "regular property" total? Yes, just because a leather couch is worth $5,000, or something else is expensive, does not mean it's not regular property. Valuable articles are not included in regular property and are insured "on the side," but a valuable article is a unique item that has a appraised value like a diamond ring or unique painting.

Do IPI insurance policies cover our property just inside the residence, or anywhere in the world? Most of our insurers provide full global coverage that will move with you and your family as you travel the world. The residence is the primary location where your property will be insured, but if you travel outside the country you are covered. For example, your i-pod is stolen while spending a week in Germany. This global coverage feature applies to the international global liability insurance as well.

International Property Insurance Premium Rates Do Vary By Country:

Insuring property in London is not the same risk as insuring personal effects in Zimbabwe. Rates can and do vary by country. When you contact us, please describe your situation in as much detail as you can. We can provide a political risk insurance rider in most countries which provides extra insurance in case of political unrest, looting, and things of this nature excluded under regular international property insurance polices.