Cover for Jewellery and Watches

If you get engaged, you might need to declare your engagement ring to your insurance provider to make sure it's covered. 

Our Bronze, Silver and Gold level Contents Insurance covers unspecified valuables worth up to £3,000 in the home. For engagement rings that cost £5,000 or more, we’ll ask for a valuation or original purchase receipt. 

Depending on the value of your engagement ring, you may need to upgrade your total home contents cover level. This means the other items in your home stay safely insured. For more detail on policy limits, see the table above.

Your jewellery is protected within the home against theft and loss by John Lewis Contents Insurance as standard, up to the limits stated in your policy. Items containing precious metals are also covered if they are damaged. With John Lewis Contents Insurance, your policy will have limits on unspecified valuables. If you have any items worth more than the single article limit for unspecified items mentioned in the table above, you'll need to specify these in your policy. For example, if you had a valuable, such as a necklace, worth more than £3,000, this would need to be named on your policy in order to be covered.

If you want to insure your jewellery outside of the home, you should consider our personal possessions add-on.

The National Association of Jewellers recommends contacting three valuers to compare their services. Their website can help you find a local and trustworthy Institute Registered Valuer IRV. They may ask you about previous valuations, any gemstone and diamond certificates and ask to see original receipts.

Their final report should include:

• Photos of your jewellery
• A detailed written description
• A covering letter
• The purpose of the valuation

Watch valuers will typically check four key things:

1. Watch model - Workmanship, materials and aesthetics all play a part during the valuation.

2. Condition of watch - The better the condition of your watch, the greater its value.

3. Rarity - When demand outweighs supply, the value of your watch rises.

4. Authenticity - Proof of purchase, authenticity documents and original packaging. These will give your valuer the information they need to confirm your watch is genuine.

John Lewis Specialist Insurance offers cover for your jewellery and watches anywhere in the world. We even protect your items should you be in alternative accommodation following an insured claim, this can be up to 5 years whilst we repair or rebuild your home.

The Specialist Insurance can cover your jewellery and watches, either as unspecified (you won’t need to provide details of individual items if they are under £10,000 each, just a total) or individually specified pieces (you will need to tell us about any items with a value over £10,000). We may need you to provide a professional valuation for higher-value items. You will also need proof of ownership and value of any jewellery and watches should you need to make a claim.

Our Specialist Home Insurance policy also covers newly acquired jewellery such as an engagement ring or birthday gifts. We will cover these items up to 20% of your contents, fine art and jewellery sum insured. For example, if your contents, fine art and jewellery sum insured add up to £200,000, we can cover a newly purchased item up to a value of £40,000. You will need to tell us about the item within 60 days of purchasing it and pay any additional premium due.

For your peace of mind, accidental damage is included as standard with our Specialist Insurance.

If our Specialist Home Insurance is too high a level of cover for your requirements, our Gold level cover may be suitable for insuring your high-value jewellery. It covers unspecified items within the home costing up to £3,000 each, specified items within the home costing up to £20,000 each, and up to £40,000 in total. See the table above for policy limits.

Some providers might set limits on how long your jewellery can be outside of your home, the details of which will be in your policy document.

With our Bronze, Silver and Gold Cover, you need to select Personal Possessions add-on if you want your jewellery covered outside your home, anywhere in the UK and abroad. Without this add-on, your jewellery is only covered within the home. 

With John Lewis Home Insurance, your valuables are covered within the home for as long as your policy lasts.

Accidental damage insurance helps to cover the costs of repairing or replacing jewellery and watches damaged by an accident in the home or accidentally lost in the home. Accidental damage cover is available as an add-on with John Lewis Home Insurance for Bronze, Silver and Gold cover levels.

To insure your jewellery and watches with John Lewis we’ll ask for details about:

• You

• Your jewellery and watches – including their value

• When and where you purchased the item/s

• The level of cover you need

To insure jewellery valued at £10,000 or more on our Specialist cover we’ll need a professional valuation.

A valuation will also be helpful for watches and jewellery valued at £5,000 or more on our Bronze, Silver and Gold cover level. However, we are happy to accept an original purchase receipt if the item was bought within the last five years.