What is scheduled personal property coverage?
While personal property coverage is an important part of your homeowners insurance, it's a good idea to take a close look at your policy to understand what this coverage may help protect. You may find that an additional coverage, known as scheduled personal property, can help provide greater protection for some of your most valued belongings.
To properly protect your belongings, you should understand a little more about the differences between the two types of coverages.
Is standard personal property insurance enough?
While a standard homeowners policy typically provides coverage for your personal property, it may set a dollar limit on how much it'll pay for certain categories of valuables like jewelry (sometimes there's even a per-item limit).
For instance, there may be a $1,500 sub-limit on what your insurance will pay for jewelry after a theft — even though your overall personal property limit is likely much higher.
So, if you were to file a claim for the theft of a piece of jewelry worth $500, you'd probably be in good shape. But if the stolen piece of jewelry was valued at $2,500, you would likely only be covered up to the $1,500 sub-limit (assuming, of course, that it's a loss covered by your policy).
How scheduled personal property coverage can help
That's where scheduled personal property coverage comes in. It's an optional add-on to your homeowners insurance policy that provides coverage for a greater number of risks and may increase the coverage limits on specific, high-value items.
Here are some belongings you might want to consider for scheduled personal property coverage:
- Jewelry and furs
- Art and antiques
- Stamp or coin collections
- Firearms
- Musical instruments
- Expensive cameras
To get the items scheduled, you typically need to provide your insurance company with a recent receipt or a professional appraisal, Insurance Information Institute (III) says.
What Is Unscheduled Personal Property?
Unscheduled personal property includes belongings that may be covered by your standard personal property coverage, but that have not been specifically itemized on your policy. Unscheduled property is subject to the standard coverage limits (and sub-limits) stated on your homeowners, renters or condo insurance policy. Your insurance provider can help you decide whether you may benefit from extra coverage for any unscheduled items you own.
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get a quoteThe benefits of scheduling valuables
Of course, scheduling your belongings will likely cost you more in premiums. But the III notes that scheduled property coverage may come with additional benefits:
- Broader protection. Scheduled personal property may be covered for additional risks, including accidentally losing your scheduled belongings (for example, dropping your wedding ring down the drain), which typically isn't something covered by a standard homeowners policy.
- No deductible. If you purchase scheduled personal property coverage, you may have the option of choosing a lower deductible or no deductible for the scheduled items. That may not be the case for other belongings that fall under the protection of personal property coverage on your standard policy.
Because the value of certain items like antiques or collectibles can go up and down over time, the III suggests getting regular appraisals done to make sure the insurance coverage on your valuables matches what they're worth.
Your insurance provider can help answer questions about coverage options for your belongings so you can choose the protection that fits your needs.