Jewelry Insurance

[Ready]

What's required and what is prudent are often two different things.

Frankly, I'm amazed that after being upset with the $5,000 replacement limit situation with this company, that you are willing to try to play this so close to the line, with so much more at stake.

I understand that much of this is driven by emotion (sentimental attachment to the ring), and that may lead to some seemingly irrational approaches. But that doesn't mean that everything about the situation needs to be treated irrationally.

I'll just say it, it just isn't rational to keep an expensive item in an assisted living center where things have already been "lost", and "hope" the insurance company covers it.

Maybe you need to step back, take a break, and reassess the situation? I really think you have become blind to some things that a number of us have pointed out.

-ERD50

I agree that is is not rational to keep a $75K ring at an assisted living facility. But I can not tell MIL what to do. She is there because of a heart condition, but her mind is sound.

MIL lives in Florida and we live in California. I have no way of making a duplicate copy of a $75K ring from 2,000 miles away. I have told her to put the ring in a bank vault. She does not want to. I can not make her do something she simply does not want to do.

As much as I would like to take control of the situation, this is not something I have the ability to control. I will continue to encourage her to move the ring to a safer location. Maybe after we resolve the watch issue with the insurance company she will reconsider.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When my friend went into a nursing home because of dementia she was wearing her 7k wedding ring but was with it enough to want to wear it. Once her mind was gone so was the ring. I never thought about taking it so it couldn’t be stolen. One of the workers there couldn’t even afford dentures so lots of temptation. I could tell who read the OP’s posts by the responses. People definitely made assumptions about the situation.

 

[CardsFan]

I agree that is is not rational to keep a $75K ring at an assisted living facility. But I can not tell MIL what to do. She is there because of a heart condition, but her mind is sound.

MIL lives in Florida and we live in California. I have no way of making a duplicate copy of a $75K ring from 2,000 miles away. I have told her to put the ring in a bank vault. She does not want to. I can not make her do something she simply does not want to do.

As much as I would like to take control of the situation, this is not something I have the ability to control. I will continue to encourage her to move the ring to a safer location. Maybe after we resolve the watch issue with the insurance company she will reconsider.

Yeah, You are in a tough spot that far away. Is there anyone local?

And, I guess an obvious question is, does MIL have the resources to get by even if the ring disappears, and there is no insurance? If so, you are doing all you can do from long distance.

 

[ERD50]

I agree that is is not rational to keep a $75K ring at an assisted living facility. But I can not tell MIL what to do. She is there because of a heart condition, but her mind is sound.

MIL lives in Florida and we live in California. I have no way of making a duplicate copy of a $75K ring from 2,000 miles away. I have told her to put the ring in a bank vault. She does not want to. I can not make her do something she simply does not want to do.

As much as I would like to take control of the situation, this is not something I have the ability to control. I will continue to encourage her to move the ring to a safer location. Maybe after we resolve the watch issue with the insurance company she will reconsider.

OK, I didn't make the connection that you are distant from her. I went back and did a quick skim of the posts, in case I missed it the first time, I didn't see any mention of it (unless I missed it a second time, which is possible). All the talk about going to Costco and a jeweler, etc, made me think this was local. Being distant certainly adds a complication.

I suppose I could have deduced it from your mention of FL and your location in CA, but unless people are talking about the weather, heating and A/C, I may not pay much attention to their location.

It's a tough situation in any case. But realistically, be prepared for her to lose the ring, and have the ins co say "You are not covered!".

Are there any local family?

At any rate, I hope it all turns out well.

-ERD50

 

[Ready]

At the moment there is no local family in Florida. My BIL and SIL live there part time in the winter and spend summer and fall in Michigan. So it’s going to be six months before they are back. Until then MIL is on her own.

 

[Ready]

We heard back from the insurance company today. They received the complaint from the Florida Insurance Commissioner. They are now backtracking (lying) and saying they offered to settle our claim for $5,000 in cash once we sign a proof of loss statement. Of course this is not true and we have documented emails stating the opposite. But it appears they now want to appear as if they are working with us to the Commissioner, likely to avoid any further scrutiny.

So while it took a bit of effort to file the complaint, it yielded the results we were hoping for. I figured it was worth a try and it appears it was.

 

[CardsFan]

Congrats!

As one who doubted this out come, I guess it just proves that it does not hurt to try.

While it might feel good to stick it to them and PROVE they lied.

In the words of Steve Miller I would "Go on, take the money and run"

 

[Ready]

Congrats!

As one who doubted this out come, I guess it just proves that it does not hurt to try.

While it might feel good to stick it to them and PROVE they lied.

In the words of Steve Miller I would "Go on, take the money and run"

Thank you, and yes I agree. No need to poke the bear. I just want my settlement check and they don't ever need to hear from me again.

 

[CSdot]

We heard back from the insurance company today. They received the complaint from the Florida Insurance Commissioner. They are now backtracking (lying) and saying they offered to settle our claim for $5,000 in cash once we sign a proof of loss statement. Of course this is not true and we have documented emails stating the opposite. But it appears they now want to appear as if they are working with us to the Commissioner, likely to avoid any further scrutiny.

So while it took a bit of effort to file the complaint, it yielded the results we were hoping for. I figured it was worth a try and it appears it was.

That is great news. Can't help but wonder if some in the industry have a strategy of telling insureds they can only collect if they buy a replacement item, even if that item costs more than the replacement insurance amount.

Would have been nice if the insurance commission made a point by making them pay your out of pocket attorneys fees and costs, and made them pay the full brand new replacement cost.

 

[Ready]

Would have been nice if the insurance commission made a point by making them pay your out of pocket attorneys fees and costs, and made them pay the full brand new replacement cost.

We did not need to hire an attorney. We just filed a complaint online with the Florida Insurance Commissioner. There was no fee for doing this. I think insurance companies don’t like to hear from the State Commissioner so they tend to do whatever it takes to make the complaint go away. In this case they were going to spend $5K whether it was to settle or reimburse so there was no financial incentive to drag things out.

 

[Ready]

No big surprise, but we received a notice of cancellation of the remaining jewelry policy today. The reason given was the increase in risk associated with MIL being in assisted living. But I’m sure the complaint to the Florida Insurance Commissioner didn’t help. For now we will move the remaining jewelry to a safe at the bank.

 

[CardsFan]

No big surprise, but we received a notice of cancellation of the remaining jewelry policy today. The reason given was the increase in risk associated with MIL being in assisted living. But I’m sure the complaint to the Florida Insurance Commissioner didn’t help. For now we will move the remaining jewelry to a safe at the bank.

Yeah, you could see that one coming a mile away.

Moving the jewelry to a safe is probably the best thing to do in any event.