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Your guide to Personal Valuables Coverage: What it covers and why you need it
If one of your prized possessions is stolen, the last thing you need is to learn your insurance coverage falls short. Make sure your high-value items are insured for what they're worth with personal valuables insurance. Here's what you need to know about this type of insurance, plus tips for protecting your valuables and being prepared in case you need to file a claim.
What is Personal Valuables Coverage?
Personal valuables insurance gives you increased limits for high-value items that may not be adequately covered under your standard home insurance policy.
At TD Insurance, for example, our Personal Valuables Coverage offers our customers a flexible way to increase their coverage for valuables such as jewelry, art, and wine. By adding on Personal Valuables Coverage to your TD Insurance home coverage, you can insure items individually for their full replacement value or insure a group of items for a single, global amount — a useful option if you've got a valuable collection of items as you won't need to insure each item individually.
Fine jewelry and premium watch insurance
Depending on the value of your fine jewelry and premium watch pieces, you may benefit from additional coverage such as TD Insurance's Personal Valuables Coverage for Fine Jewelry.
Most standard home insurance policies, such as TD Insurance's home coverage and our enhanced home insurance package, offer specified total limits on the coverage provided for these types of items. But, while these limits may be enough for a collection of more modest pieces, if you own pieces with values that exceed these limits (like an engagement ring or luxury timepiece, or a collection of pieces with a high combined value) it's a good idea to talk to your insurer about increasing your coverage. If you're a TD Insurance customer, for example, you can get adequate coverage by adding on our Personal Valuables Coverage and insuring your pieces individually or your entire collection for a blanket amount.
Works of art insurance
Most standard home insurance policies will include a certain level of coverage for artwork, but the limits might not be sufficient for larger, more valuable collections. For example, if you own high-value, signed, rare, or one-of-a-kind works of art, your collection may be underinsured. And if one of the pieces you own is on loan to a gallery or otherwise exhibited outside your home, it's unlikely that your coverage will apply while the work is on exhibit.
So, purchasing add-on coverage like our Personal Valuables Coverage is a good choice if your standard home policy doesn't provide adequate coverage for your art collection. Plus, you'll have the option to insure your collection for a higher coverage limit, instead of insuring each piece individually.
Keep in mind, though, that coverage for artwork on exhibit isn't automatically covered by our Personal Valuables Coverage. But if you're planning to exhibit a piece outside your home, you can always reach out to us in advance to ask about extending your coverage in this situation.
Wine and spirits insurance
Your wine and spirits collection might be covered under your home insurance policy, but as with other high-value possessions, the coverage limit offered by standard home policies may be too low to leave you adequately covered.
And coverage under your home policy treats the bottles in your collection just like any other household item — which means you won't be covered for something like sudden and accidental spoilage. If you're a serious collector, this coverage gap may be significant enough to consider purchasing additional protection for your collection.
TD Insurance's Personal Valuables Coverage for Wine & Spirits is an add-on to your TD Insurance home policy that gives you a higher coverage limit for your entire collection. You're also covered for sudden and accidental temperature-related spoilage which renders your high-value bottles undrinkable.
Bicycle insurance
Standard home insurance policies usually provide coverage for bicycles, both while they're on your property and when they're temporary away from your home. There might be a limit on this coverage, though. For many bikes, this limit shouldn't be an issue, but if you have an expensive bike or an electric bike, it might fall short of the protection you need.
That's where add-on coverage like our Personal Valuables Coverage for Bicycles steps in. It lets you insure your bikes individually, or you can opt for a blanket amount of coverage. It's well worth considering if you've made a major investment in your bike and want coverage that adequately reflects this investment.
Protect your high-value items
Our Personal Valuables Coverage isn't limited to the items we've covered above. If you have home insurance with us and you own other high-value items or valuable collections, talk to a TD Insurance Advisor. They'll help you build Personal Valuables Coverage that best fits the items you own.
Is there anything I need to have ready when I apply for TD Insurance's Personal Valuables Coverage?
Applying to add on our Personal Valuables Coverage to your existing TD Insurance home insurance doesn't require a lot of paperwork. But we may ask for a few specifics, especially if you're insuring more expensive items. For example, depending on the value of the item you want insured, we may need you to provide a detailed description, including an up-to-date professional appraisal of its value. We'll keep this information on hand for future use such as making a claim.
Tips for protecting your valuables (and how to prep for future claims)
There are several things you can do to help protect your valuables and prepare for the possibility of a future claim.
How to help protect your valuables from loss or damage
Here are some proactive steps you can take to help keep your personal valuables safe:
- Consider renting a safety deposit box. This gives you a secure, off-site location for storing smaller items that are irreplaceable or rarely used. It's also a good place to store important documents you don't need to keep at home.
- Be careful what you post on social media. Whether it's your latest high-end purchase or upcoming travel plans, avoid oversharing on social media.
- Invest in home security. Installing a monitored home security system can help reduce the risk of break-ins — and it might help lower your home insurance premium too.
- Read your home insurance policy. Getting familiar with what's covered, what's not, and what the limits are (for example, some of your items might only be insured up to a certain amount) helps you see any coverage gaps you might want to address.
How to be claims-ready (what to track, save, and store)
Being prepared can make the insurance process go more smoothly if you have to file a claim:
- Keep your receipts. Purchase receipts help provide proof of ownership.
- Take photos. Document the condition and details of your valuables with photos.
- Get professional appraisals. Consider getting appraisals for items like jewelry or art, to establish their current value.
- Store relevant documents. Keep all documentation related to your valuables in a safe place and keep a digital backup for added security.
Interested in purchasing Personal Valuables Coverage? If you're an existing TD Insurance customer, you can chat with us or manage your policy through MyInsurance. Or, if you're looking to switch to TD Insurance, get a quote online.
Get to know personal valuables coverage
The content on this page is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Coverages described herein may be subject to additional eligibility criteria, limitations and exclusions. In the event you make a claim, potential indemnification is also subject to the receivability of the claim and the type of coverage you bought.
In the case of conflict between the content on this page and your policy wordings, your policy wordings shall take precedence.