Valuables Insurance (Wertsachenversicherung)
Valuables insurance covers jewelry, art, collections, and other particularly valuable movable items beyond the standard sub-limits of household contents insurance.
Comparison profile
- Trigger
- All risks
- Insured interest
- Particularly valuable movable items (jewellery, watches, art, furs, collections) whose value exceeds the sub-limits customary in household contents insurance.
- Rating basis
- Declared value per item / total sum insured, Security measures at the location (safe, alarm system), Item category (jewellery, art, watches, instruments), Claims and appraisal history
- Typical limits
- Sum insured per listed item based on current appraisal or purchase value, often with an overall policy limit and per-item sublimits.
- Typical deductibles
- Modest per-occurrence deductible, or none for individually scheduled high-value items.
- Target segments
- Private individuals, Collectors and art owners, High-net-worth clients
Insured events
- Fire and burglary
- Escape of water
- Loss and unexplained disappearance
- Damage in transit
- Theft while worn or carried away from home
Key exclusions
- War and nuclear energy
- Wear and tear and gradual deterioration
- Mysterious disappearance without any circumstantial evidence (in stricter wordings)
- Confiscation and government seizure
- Inherent vice or defects in the item itself
Concept
Valuables insurance covers jewelry, watches, works of art, furs, collections, and other particularly valuable movable items whose value exceeds the sub-limits customary in household contents insurance for such categories. It can be taken out as a standalone policy or as supplementary cover to an existing household contents policy, and offers a significantly broader scope of cover for the items concerned than the underlying base coverage.
Valuation and Proof of Value
Because the value of the insured items is often substantial and difficult to determine on a general basis, insurers generally require detailed evidence of value through purchase receipts, current appraisals, or expert valuations, particularly for works of art, antiques, and collectibles whose market value can fluctuate significantly; individual items are often specifically listed in the policy with individual sums insured.
Scope of Cover
Valuables insurance generally covers not only the classic perils such as fire, burglary, and escape of water, but frequently also all-risks cover, which additionally includes loss, damage in transit, or unexplained disappearance; given the mobile nature of many insured items, cover is also generally provided worldwide rather than only at the policyholder’s residence.
Comparison and delineation
Valuables insurance is best understood as an extension of, rather than a substitute for, household contents insurance: the base policy provides only a limited sub-limit for jewellery, art, and similar items, while valuables insurance replaces that sub-limit with individually scheduled sums and a materially broader, all-risks style cover including loss, transit damage, and unexplained disappearance. Because it can also be written as a fully stand-alone policy, it remains available to clients without an underlying household contents contract, for example for collections held outside the home. Worldwide validity and detailed valuation requirements distinguish it from the largely location-bound, less document-intensive base contents cover.