Enjoy Your Valuables Free of Worry

In addition to the standard offer of insurance products, in the uncertain and turbulent times we live in today, global insurers have recently been additionally focused on insuring expensive products. Naturally, the result of such a commitment by the insurers primarily stems from the interest of the owners of valuables who want to be additionally secured in relation to the valuables they own.

Thus, among other things, the insurance of expensive drinks has been popular in the world in recent years. Billionaire Vodka, which is produced by hand and exclusively at the customer's request, costs about 3.7 million dollars per bottle. For a specially produced alcoholic drink, Tequila Ley, which is four years old and distributed in a platinum and white gold bottle, decorated with 6400 diamonds, it is necessary to allocate 3.5 million dollars. Two million dollars costs the pleasure of having a 100-year-old cognac Henry IV, in a bottle of twenty-four carat gold and platinum, as well as the above-mentioned luxury drink decorated with 6,000 diamonds. Collectors of expensive drinks and their insurance will be devoted attention in one of the next issues of The Collection, and in this issue, we will focus on the insurance of luxury and expensive watches.

Watch owners and watch lovers are proud of collecting these precious items. Apart from the emotional elements in this type of collecting (when it comes to gifted or inherited items), this hobby certainly has an investment component, bearing in mind the great value of items owned by collectors or owners of expensive watches. That is why damage, loss or theft of these precious and valuable objects should be covered by appropriate insurance, and with the right insurance, you may wear your valuable pieces of jewellery more often, feeling secure knowing that you will be financially protected if something happens to your precious object. As much as you think your watch is safe in your safe at home, office or in a dedicated place for keeping valuables (banks and the like), your valuables are always at risk. Even in such, partially controlled conditions, your valuable object is exposed to the risk of fire, flood, burglary or accidental damage, so you should protect your precious item or collection by insurance.

Regardless of the fact that standard insurance policies for homes and apartments in your ownership, or rented flats and apartments contain coverage for jewellery and personal belongings up to a certain value, if your watch has a value higher than the policy limit, it is possible to contract additional coverage within existing (i.e. offered) policies or separate insurance of your valuables. The first thing to do is to precisely check with your insurance company the sub-limits for coverage of valuables within the insurance of your property. If the value of a valuable item - luxury watch is less than the sub-limit, then the watch may be covered under your property insurance in case of loss due to theft. However, if your watch has a value higher than the defined sub-limit, you can request either a higher coverage than the one defined by the standard policy, or contract i.e. initiate additional coverage.

It is very important to distinguish between the watch warranty that you get from the manufacturer and the insurance of your valuables. As in the case of insurance, where the first step is obtaining information before the contract conclusion is a detailed familiarization with the conditions and tariffs created by insurers, in the case of analysing the warranty you receive from the manufacturer, you must understand what is covered by the warranty, how long the warranty is in force and what and in which situations the manufacturer offers in the event of failure or damage to the product in your possession. Luxury brands usually have different protection plans, extended warranty periods, as well as additional benefits offered by the manufacturer. However, the key disadvantage of the warranty is that the warranty in no case covers the risk of theft or loss of your watch. If you have insurance for the watch, in one of the ways mentioned above (within the standard insurance policy for your property or additional coverage of risks related to your valuables), you can have protection for the actual value of the watch in case of theft or loss.

There are also special models of associating insurance companies with online platforms for watches which offer online insurance, with an instant estimate of costs and quick activation of coverage. In the case of more expensive watches, owners consider special offers from insurers that offer different coverages, and such insurances usually cost up to 2% of the retail price.

Despite the fact that in the era of digital technologies there are a large number of sites and different online platforms for identifying lost or stolen watches, watches are still very easy targets for thieves, as they are easily portable and can easily be exchanged (sold) for cash. Watch thefts happen much more often than we think. A moment of a lack of attention was enough to steal a watch worth almost a million euros from a businessman in front of a hotel in Paris a few years ago. Relaxing on the beach in Ibiza cost the owner of the limited series watch a loss of value estimated at 1.2 million euros. Watch thefts are also more common than you think. In 2019 alone, a Japanese businessman was robbed of his $1.2 million Swiss watch right outside his hotel in Paris and a tourist in Ibiza was robbed of his limited-edition Richard Mille timepiece, worth up to $1.7 million.

Daily wear and frequent travel would also increase the likelihood of theft, loss, and damage.

Working with a watch on your wrist may cause strain on the clasp and straps and sometimes leading to strap failure. Leaving your watch in the hotel safe may not be as safe as you’d think as well, given their portability. When it comes to airport security screening, if you must remove your watch (depending on the advice of the security officer), you can reduce the risk of damage from the magnetizing effects of the X-ray machine, by placing it underneath your other belonging in the tray. Don’t forget to check that you’ve got all your items before leaving the area.

As reported by Bloomberg, numerous watch collectors worldwide are concerned about the increase in (mostly violent) thefts of luxury watches in the world. Apart from the fact that such a trend threatens watch owners, it is also risky for luxury brands whose sales could decline due to the fact that owning or wearing such watches becomes risky. The world's metropolises fight against the theft of valuables, primarily luxury watches, in different ways. Last summer, the London Police Service launched a special operation to tackle the problem of theft of valuables, after robberies related to these thefts, with the use of knives by thieves, had increased by 60% in just two months. London Police figures indicate that 667 Rolex watches were stolen between January and September 2022, while 73 Patek Philippe watches were stolen in London in the same period. During the recently concluded World Cup in Qatar, the target of an armed burglary of the home of an English football team star, Raheem Sterling, was his £300,000 worth watch collection. Over the past year, the average price of a luxury watch stolen in London was around £9,000, which is an increase of almost 100% compared to the average value of stolen watches in previous years.

If you do not take an insurance policy for your expensive watch, you alone are financially responsible for its loss or theft. If you decide to transfer these risks to someone else, primarily an insurance company, you should contact the company or an agent to check whether and to what extent your valuables are covered by your standard property policies, and whether you need to extend the coverage, or conclude a new policy in order to have financial security and enjoy your hobbies and valuables with less worry.

The risk of loss and theft lurks everywhere, that's why having an insurance policy that covers you wherever you travel gives you the peace of mind while wearing your timepiece.