Congratulations! You're engaged! Now safeguard that rock!
It happened! He popped the question and offered you his heart, a promise and a gorgeous symbol of his love. He thought of every detail as he bent down on one knee and asked you to marry him. You cried, screamed and of course said YES! After a night of celebrating, you wake up with the question every new bride asks: now what? As wedding experts, here is our advice: RUN TO YOUR INSURANCE AGENT!
Whether your ring is .5 carats or 5 carats, princess or heart-shaped, platinum or gold, contact your insurance agent immediately and safeguard the rock! For just a few extra dollars a year, your mind can rest easy knowing if anything happened to your ring, you are covered.
A few years ago, my rings disappeared. I was confident she put it on her nightstand and at the time her son Jordan has just started walking and was rather inquisitive. Our family dog Buddy was also a budding puppy and (just like Jordan), he was into everything. I knew put my rings (both engagement and wedding rings) on her nightstand because it was a safe place that neither toddler nor puppy could get to. After a long and stressful week of tears and heartache, I swore to Aaron that I didn’t lose them. We looked high and low and even examined dirty diapers, the vacuum bag and even considered having an x-ray of the puppy’s stomach. We were desperate, it had been 10 days and we had looked everywhere. but there were no rings.
I finally broke down and called our insurance agent who gave us the following options:
Face the fact they are gone and move forward with a claim for a replacement (it had been 10 days and they looked everywhere!)
Wait for just a few more days and see if they turned up.
I opted for the second choice because I KNEW they weren’t lost. As I agonized over the loss and began to think about filing a claim for a replacement, I realized I had never asked Jordan if he knew where they were. Even though he wasn’t speaking in full paragraphs, he was speaking in fragmented sentences and he was in the house when they went missing. So, I bent down and asked Jordan if he “knew what happened to Momma’s rings?”. Just like you (wouldn’t!) expect, Jordan walked over to the file cabinet and said “here momma”. After 12 days of looking here and looking there and literally looking everywhere, the rings sat in the drawer of her filing cabinet. Tragedy averted but if they had been lost, I knew it was covered.
Things happen and although you won't get the exact ring back, your investment will be protected. It can be on a vacation, at a friend's house or even while you're still engaged.
I had a client who left her ring on a restaurant after washing her hands, only to return to the restroom moments later, and it was gone...2 months before her wedding, but they hadn't insured it and they had to replace it at full cost.
Insuring your ring is NOT expensive and the pricing will vary based on your ring, stone, setting, etc and you will need to get a current appraisal of it (although if your ring is new, you should have a current appraisal from your jeweler). We contacted our insurance agent and this is a sample of the pricing they used as a reference point:
$20,000 appraised amount $253 annual premium or $21.08 per month
$15,000 appraised amount $172 annual premium or $14.33 per month
$10,000 appraised amount $101 annual premium or $8.41 per month
$5,000 appraised amount $49 annual premium or $4.08 per month
$3,000 appraised amount $30.00 annual premium or $2.50 per month
For just around $100 a year, your $10,000 precious stone could be covered against loss, theft or damage with no deductible. This small investment to insure the ring is truly worth it. When he purchased that ring, he picked it out just for you. He thought about the setting, the size, the shape. He thought about how and when to propose and he thought about what the ring meant to him and to you; a promise of forever and a commitment of a lifetime. So before you begin picking out wedding colors, pick up the phone and call your insurance agent and safeguard that rock…..just in case.
Questions, comments or suggestions? Contact me at
care@sterlingweddingsandevents.com
