Here’s a scenario that plays out on Tybee Island every summer. Someone wades into the surf, feels their engagement ring slip off in the cold water, and spends the next hour digging through sand. The ring is gone. And when they call their homeowners insurance company, they learn two hard truths: losing something isn’t a covered peril on most home policies, and even if it were, jewelry coverage is often capped at $1,500 or so for theft.
A $9,000 ring. A $1,500 cap. Or nothing at all.
Personal articles insurance — sometimes called a valuable items policy or scheduled personal property — exists to close that gap. It covers your most valuable possessions individually, for their full value, against almost anything that could happen to them. Including simply losing them.
Homeowners and renters policies cover your belongings as a big general pool, but they quietly limit certain categories. Depending on the carrier, you might see caps like $1,500–$2,500 for jewelry theft, $2,500 for firearms, and similar sublimits for furs, silverware, watches, and collectibles. Three other gaps matter just as much:
Lose a $3,000 watch with a $2,500 deductible and the claim is barely worth filing.
Rings slip off in the ocean. Earrings vanish at hotels. Standard policies typically pay only for named perils like theft and fire — not for things that simply go missing.
A small jewelry claim on your homeowners policy can follow you at renewal.
A personal articles policy fixes all three: items are insured for an agreed value, most policies carry no deductible, and claims stay off your homeowners record.
Almost anything you’d hate to lose and couldn’t easily replace:
Each item (or collection) is listed — “scheduled” — on the policy with its own value, usually backed by an appraisal or receipt. That’s the beauty of it: no arguing after a loss about what the piece was worth. The number was settled on day one.
Scheduled items are typically covered worldwide. The watch you wear to Atlanta, the camera you take to Europe, the ring on your finger at the beach — protected wherever they go. For coastal Georgia families, there’s one more scenario worth naming: hurricane evacuations. When you pack the car and head up I-16 ahead of a storm, your valuables are covered on the road and wherever you land, not just inside your house.
Less than most people guess. Jewelry commonly runs in the neighborhood of $1 to $2 per $100 of value per year — so a $10,000 engagement ring might cost roughly $100–$200 annually to insure fully, with no deductible. Cameras, instruments, and firearms are often priced similarly or lower. Rates vary by item type, value, and how it’s stored (a safe can earn a discount on high-value pieces).
For what it protects, it’s some of the cheapest peace of mind in insurance — and it often pairs with a home and auto bundle for additional savings.
We help families protect their valuables across the greater Savannah area and the Georgia coast, including:
Savannah, Pooler, Garden City, Port Wentworth, Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island, Vernonburg, Rincon, Springfield, Guyton, Richmond Hill, and Pembroke.
From heirloom silver in a historic Savannah home to a hunting collection in Guyton, wedding rings in Pooler, or camera gear that travels between Thunderbolt and Tybee, we’ll make sure the things that matter most are covered for what they’re actually worth.
Scheduling valuables correctly takes a little care: getting current appraisals (jewelry values have risen sharply with gold prices — a ring appraised ten years ago is likely underinsured today), choosing between scheduling items individually or blanketing a collection, and deciding what belongs on a personal articles policy versus your homeowners coverage. We walk through it with you, compare carriers, and update values as your collection grows. And when something does go missing, you’re calling a local office, not a call center.
That’s the headline benefit. Scheduled coverage typically includes accidental loss and mysterious disappearance — the ring in the ocean, the earring at the hotel — which standard homeowners policies generally exclude.
