Have you ever lost, damaged or had a piece of diamond jewelry stolen?

For your added protection, you may want to consider insuring your diamond jewelry, especially pieces like your Diamond Engagement Ring or Three Stone Ring, which have high emotional and financial value.

To understand how to insure your diamond, talk to your insurance agent to discuss your options for adding diamonds to your existing homeowner's or renter's insurance. Many insurance companies allow you to itemize your jewelry within your policy.

There are basically three types of diamond ring insurance: Actual Cash Value, Replacement Value, and Agreed Value.

Actual cash value
Actual cash value replaces the ring at current market rates, either higher or lower than you paid for it. This coverage is rather rare.

Agreed Value
Another rare form of coverage but the most desirable, is Agreed Value. This is where you and the insurance company agree on the value, and that is the amount you are compensated for in the event of a loss.

Replacement Value
The most common type, and the policy that most people are sold is Replacement Value. This is where the insurance company replaces your ring at the lowest cost they can negotiate. This is sometimes much less than the amount that the ring is insured for. This is an area to be careful. We strangly recomend to insist on an independent appraisal, as you don't want to be paying premiums for a ring appraised at $15,000, and then they have it replaced for $3000.

Make sure your diamond ring insurance covers you when you travel, and for most normal occasions. There are many policies that will only cover your ring inside the house, causing problems when it's lost or stolen outside the home.

There are tremendous variances that depend on the policy, and the insurance company filing of their policies and rates with each state's insurance commissioner.

Please keep these guidelines handy and you'll be able to buy some piece of mind!