Wedding ring insurance???

[LD_TAndK]

I had never heard of wedding ring insurance until this weekend. I found out every couple we were hanging out with pays for it. They were very concerned when they found out we did not, because it's only $5 a month!

One person tells me her mother recently lost her ring and insurance replaced it, therefore it's a good idea. I ask how long has her mom had the insurance? Over 30 years.

I was afraid to ask what else they might be insuring.

[Metalcat]

Yeah, we once had a member here who was in an "every cent counts" kind of financial crisis and he was paying quite a bit more than $5/mo for ring insurance. His big concern was it being lost or stolen while being worn out and about. He was furious with me when I suggested just to put the ring away somewhere safe until their finances were more stable. Unfortunately, I don't think he stuck around here for very long.

[RWD]

Yeah, seems silly. The value of our rings is not inconsequential, but low enough that replacement cost wouldn't be a big deal. The real issue is the sentimental value, which insurance can't help with.

[Metalcat]

Yeah, seems silly. The value of our rings is not inconsequential, but low enough that replacement cost wouldn't be a big deal. The real issue is the sentimental value, which insurance can't help with.

I have a few very expensive rings, but I rarely wear them and if I lost them, I wouldn't bother replacing them, because yeah, there's no replacing the sentimental value.

[Michael in ABQ]

We added VPP (Valuable Personal Property) coverage on our renters' insurance a while ago. I think it was $40/year for up to $2,500 on jewelry. When I lost my gold wedding ring carving Halloween pumpkins, they reimbursed me for purchasing a replacement which was around $700-800 at the time (gold was much cheaper when we got married and I probably paid $350 or so). So, we got our money's worth.

I should check if we still have it since if I lost my wedding ring now, I would probably just replace it with a silicone ring, so I didn't have to take it off every time I went to the gym. Even replacing a gold ring now wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal as earlier in our marriage when we barely had a positive net worth.

[dcheesi]

FWIW, I lost my wedding ring while traveling, less than 4 months after I started wearing it. It really is the sentimental value, especially since the design we picked for me would be very hard to replace (jeweler went out of business, and their supplier had already dropped the design from their catalog by the time we ordered it).

More recently, DW's heirloom wedding band lost a pavé stone. We found the stone and her mom is having it repaired.

For now, we're both wearing cheap silicone rings, and plan to continue that as our day-to-day option. I just wish I'd thought of that while I still had the original ring to wear on special occasions, etc.

[PDXTabs]

They were very concerned when they found out we did not, because it's only $5 a month!

One person tells me her mother recently lost her ring and insurance replaced it, therefore it's a good idea. I ask how long has her mom had the insurance? Over 30 years.

I've never had wedding ring insurance, but assuming that it also covers engagement rings this doesn't seem like that bad of a deal. 30 years at $5/mo is less than $2k, right? For a ring that might be $10k to replace? I guess that it depends on the value of the ring.

[HPstache]

They were very concerned when they found out we did not, because it's only $5 a month!

One person tells me her mother recently lost her ring and insurance replaced it, therefore it's a good idea. I ask how long has her mom had the insurance? Over 30 years.

I've never had wedding ring insurance, but assuming that it also covers engagement rings this doesn't seem like that bad of a deal. 30 years at $5/mo is less than $2k, right? For a ring that might be $10k to replace? I guess that it depends on the value of the ring.

In before... "yes, but if you had invested that money in index funds..."

[Dicey]

Yeah, seems silly. The value of our rings is not inconsequential, but low enough that replacement cost wouldn't be a big deal. The real issue is the sentimental value, which insurance can't help with.

^This^, except that Mr. Dicey doesn't wear a ring, so it would just be mine to replace.

[Hula Hoop]

Our wedding rings cost a few hundred bucks each.  Standard gold bands from a jewelry store at the mall but with a sentimental engravings inside.  We didn't do engagement rings as I guess we were mustachian even back then. 

For standard mustachian rings, such as ours, I can't imagine insurance being necessary.  But I've met women with extremely expensive looking engagement rings so I guess for them it might be worth it.

[Paper Chaser]

$5/mo would pay for a new silicone wedding band every 3-5 months.

[LD_TAndK]

They were very concerned when they found out we did not, because it's only $5 a month!

One person tells me her mother recently lost her ring and insurance replaced it, therefore it's a good idea. I ask how long has her mom had the insurance? Over 30 years.

I've never had wedding ring insurance, but assuming that it also covers engagement rings this doesn't seem like that bad of a deal. 30 years at $5/mo is less than $2k, right? For a ring that might be $10k to replace? I guess that it depends on the value of the ring.

Did a quick online quote, $105 annually for a $10,000 women's wedding ring in my zip code. To v8rx7guy's delight I plugged that into an s&p 500 calculator and got $12,555 if starting february 1993.

Regardless, we know the insurers aren't losing money and it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose.

[nereo]

Regardless, we know the insurers aren't losing money and it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose.

This. For the insurance to “work out” for an individual, you first need to lose the ring before paying out too much in premiums, then have the claim approved for the amount you feel it is worth. That doesn’t happen for the majority of customers.

From a mustachian point of view, if a piece of jewelry is so expensive you cannot easily afford to replace it, you have paid way too much for that ring. As others have said, the real loss is sentimental, which insurance is useless for.

[Metalcat]

They were very concerned when they found out we did not, because it's only $5 a month!

One person tells me her mother recently lost her ring and insurance replaced it, therefore it's a good idea. I ask how long has her mom had the insurance? Over 30 years.

I've never had wedding ring insurance, but assuming that it also covers engagement rings this doesn't seem like that bad of a deal. 30 years at $5/mo is less than $2k, right? For a ring that might be $10k to replace? I guess that it depends on the value of the ring.

That's assuming you have a 10K ring to begin with and lose it within a particular time frame.

As has been said, insurance rarely pays off for the insured. I personally have never lost a ring and it's not really something I worry about, so I'm not going to pay into a system that designed for me to lose money just in case I *might* lose a ring within the set number of years where I come out ahead or break even.

[RWD]

Thinking about this again I could see an argument for getting insurance for say the first year. Say you're unfamiliar with wearing a ring so you might more more likely to misplace or damage it. And it hasn't been long enough to have cemented its sentimental value yet. But having the insurance perpetually is just pointless.

[Michael in ABQ]

Thanks to the OP I realized that this insurance no longer made sense and cancelled it yesterday. For $2,500 of jewelry coverage, it was $29 per year. For $1,000 on guns, it was an additional $24. Overall, we still came out ahead from the one payout for a lost ring several years ago but now we can afford to replace a gold wedding band or a gun out of pocket. So now I've got a $30 credit for my auto/renter's insurance when that renews.

[nereo]

Thanks to the OP I realized that this insurance no longer made sense and cancelled it yesterday. For $2,500 of jewelry coverage, it was $29 per year. For $1,000 on guns, it was an additional $24. Overall, we still came out ahead from the one payout for a lost ring several years ago but now we can afford to replace a gold wedding band or a gun out of pocket. So now I've got a $30 credit for my auto/renter's insurance when that renews.

may I suggest not keeping your gold wedding band or your gun in your pocket?  Too easy for it to become out-of-pocket.
(sorry, dumb joke)

[Metalcat]

@nereo

...fuck that was bad

[nereo]

@nereo

...fuck that was bad

[iris lily]

30 some years ago, I carried an insurance rider on my engagement ring for a couple of years. And yes, it was silly because it’s not that big of a rock, under 1 carat. And our net worth was never in the negative and was pretty healthy.

It was especially silly because we don’t insure for the “little” stuff anyway and never have. We have no life insurance. We take  The biggest deductible we can get for house and auto insurance. When our cars get old, we drop comprehensive insurance. Etc.

We have even owned real estate with liability-only policies. So in retrospect, that ring insurance was not a good financial decision.

[PDXTabs]

Regardless, we know the insurers aren't losing money and it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose.

I agree that insurance companies aren't losing money. Not on life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, laptop insurance, or ring insurance. But I don't know that it follows that "it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose." I know that I'm rough on laptops which I used for both business and personal uses. So I buy the accident insurance. It has paid off for me 100% of the time because I know I use my laptops harder than the average customer. Presumably there is some analogous ring insurance customer.

[iris lily]

Regardless, we know the insurers aren't losing money and it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose.

I agree that insurance companies aren't losing money. Not on life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, laptop insurance, or ring insurance. But I don't know that it follows that "it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose." I know that I'm rough on laptops which I used for both business and personal uses. So I buy the accident insurance. It has paid off for me 100% of the time because I know I use my laptops harder than the average customer. Presumably there is some analogous ring insurance customer.

Yes, I can see that, and that ties into the poster above who suggested it might be new owners of big rings, people who haven’t worn $thousands  on their finger before,  and  find it intimidating who this insurance appeals to.

I’m not hard on rings and after decades I don’t worry about losing rings or breaking them, but I did learn after 20 years of wear that having the main stones checked and tightened up was a good idea.

Further about jewelry: once decades ago, I received a pair of gold hoop earrings as a gift. It was a gift I wanted. Within a few weeks they were bent, and then broken. So with that I learned flimsy tho high content gold earrings – – not for me.

[JAYSLOL]

If I’m tempted to finance it or insure it for replacement, and it’s not a house to live in, I probably can’t actually afford it.  Our rings were less than $1k combined.  I actually found a pretty awesome 18k ring with 5 diamonds at a garage sale for $2 a few years ago and surprised my wife with it lol

[Metalcat]

Regardless, we know the insurers aren't losing money and it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose.

I agree that insurance companies aren't losing money. Not on life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, laptop insurance, or ring insurance. But I don't know that it follows that "it's to your advantage to self insure things you can afford to lose." I know that I'm rough on laptops which I used for both business and personal uses. So I buy the accident insurance. It has paid off for me 100% of the time because I know I use my laptops harder than the average customer. Presumably there is some analogous ring insurance customer.

Yeah, sure, if you are the kind of person who tends to lose jewelry, but then chooses to buy really expensive jewelry anyway, then yeah, that would be the perfect person to purchase ring insurance...or maybe not buy an expensive ring in the first place, but to each their own.

No one sane would say that insurance is always bad for everyone. We're making the exact same point that you are, that the case for insurance is very limited and not generally beneficial on average. Not that because on average that it isn't beneficial that it's not beneficial for anyone, if that were the case, no one would buy insurance for anything.

All of us are saying that people should think carefully about whether or not they really are the case that would benefit from insurance instead of just assuming that it's worthwhile because it looks affordable.

[Smokystache]

There's no doubt that every person should look carefully at each insurance situation.

But my SIL was gifted/inherited an engagement/wedding band set that includes 6 diamonds and each are over 2 carats -- it looks like costume jewelry, but isn't ... and is probably worth $30k or so. So they paid $0 for it, but she's known to be a forgetful clutz and knows her regular home owner's insurance wouldn't cover it so .... I'll agree the typical situation doesn't call for it, but it doesn't mean that it is always ridiculous.

[nereo]

There's no doubt that every person should look carefully at each insurance situation.

But my SIL was gifted/inherited an engagement/wedding band set that includes 6 diamonds and each are over 2 carats -- it looks like costume jewelry, but isn't ... and is probably worth $30k or so. So they paid $0 for it, but she's known to be a forgetful clutz and knows her regular home owner's insurance wouldn't cover it so .... I'll agree the typical situation doesn't call for it, but it doesn't mean that it is always ridiculous.

Ok, so... one could look at it this way;  She paid $0 for it, and I'm guessing she has no interest in selling (?).  If she were to lose the ring, would she buy another for $30k? Or is the value to your SIL primarily sentimental?

The insurance company is betting it will make a profit on premiums for said ring.

[Metalcat]

There's no doubt that every person should look carefully at each insurance situation.

But my SIL was gifted/inherited an engagement/wedding band set that includes 6 diamonds and each are over 2 carats -- it looks like costume jewelry, but isn't ... and is probably worth $30k or so. So they paid $0 for it, but she's known to be a forgetful clutz and knows her regular home owner's insurance wouldn't cover it so .... I'll agree the typical situation doesn't call for it, but it doesn't mean that it is always ridiculous.

Yeah, which is why I just said this: "No one sane would say that insurance is always bad for everyone. We're making the exact same point that you are, that the case for insurance is very limited and not generally beneficial on average. Not that because on average that it isn't beneficial that it's not beneficial for anyone, if that were the case, no one would buy insurance for anything."

I invested about $3000 in an insurance policy that paid out 6 figures. I'm the first person to know that insurance is sometimes highly beneficial.

[Metalcat]

There's no doubt that every person should look carefully at each insurance situation.

But my SIL was gifted/inherited an engagement/wedding band set that includes 6 diamonds and each are over 2 carats -- it looks like costume jewelry, but isn't ... and is probably worth $30k or so. So they paid $0 for it, but she's known to be a forgetful clutz and knows her regular home owner's insurance wouldn't cover it so .... I'll agree the typical situation doesn't call for it, but it doesn't mean that it is always ridiculous.

FTR, a decent 2 carat diamond alone is worth close to 30K, they range from 5K for total garbage stones to 60K for good stones.

If these are even passably decent stones, she has 60-120K sitting there. Yeah, I would insure the fuck out of that and then *purposefully* be careless with it and hope that I lose it or have it stolen.

[glacio09]

It's not insurance but I had a similar brain break experience with my rings. I'm a forgetful klutz so wanted a silicon ring. We had intended to get formal gold bands for the wedding but hadn't found any cheap and plain enough. My husband and I planned on using the Star Wars rings that we ordered for everyday usage, but it didn't look like they were going to come in on time, so two days before the wedding, I went to a jewelry store that was closing to see if they had anything. I couldn't see anything under $500. A woman asked if I needed help and I explained the situation. She freaked.

I know it shouldn't be a surprise that someone who works in a jewelry store would think that not having rings would be a nightmare, but I was not ready for the panic. She offered to put in a rush order or start calling other stores. I stuttered out a "Thanks but no thanks" and quickly walked back out the door with her in total confusion.

Ended up getting $25 silicon rings from a running store. The $35 Star War Rings were waiting at my door when I got back.

[patchyfacialhair]

My wife and I both have our rings insured and it costs us $3.16 a month. It ends up saving us about $8 a month on our auto insurance due to multi-product discount. Definite no brainer for us to keep the policy.

[GilesMM]

Our deductible is like ten times more than both rings, haha.

[GuitarStv]

If you did wedding rings the right way, you went to your local hardware store and found a length of pipe that fits your finger, and that of your wife - then cut the rings off of the pipes with a hacksaw.  Keeping the pipes around should be insurance enough, and minimal added cost.

[nereo]

If you did wedding rings the right way, you went to your local hardware store and found a length of pipe that fits your finger, and that of your wife - then cut the rings off of the pipes with a hacksaw.  Keeping the pipes around should be insurance enough, and minimal added cost.

At first I read that and thought "... you keep the metal pipe to insure your wife doesn't leave?!" before I realized you meant to make more rings (because I guess that would save you a trip to the hardware store?)

[Weisass]

If you did wedding rings the right way, you went to your local hardware store and found a length of pipe that fits your finger, and that of your wife - then cut the rings off of the pipes with a hacksaw.  Keeping the pipes around should be insurance enough, and minimal added cost.

At first I read that and thought "... you keep the metal pipe to insure your wife doesn't leave?!" before I realized you meant to make more rings (because I guess that would save you a trip to the hardware store?)

But why bother with a hacksaw? For a few bucks, you get a much smoother cut with a pipe cutter.

[GuitarStv]

If you did wedding rings the right way, you went to your local hardware store and found a length of pipe that fits your finger, and that of your wife - then cut the rings off of the pipes with a hacksaw.  Keeping the pipes around should be insurance enough, and minimal added cost.

At first I read that and thought "... you keep the metal pipe to insure your wife doesn't leave?!" before I realized you meant to make more rings (because I guess that would save you a trip to the hardware store?)

But why bother with a hacksaw? For a few bucks, you get a much smoother cut with a pipe cutter.

See bolded answer.  :P

[Weisass]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

[Metalcat]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

This is what people mean when they say the forum has gotten soft

;P

[LD_TAndK]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

The burrs help keep the ring from slipping off, saving you from needing insurance on your hacksaw-pipe ring

[Weisass]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

This is what people mean when they say the forum has gotten soft

;P

LOL so this is hedonistic adaptation, eh? whining about scraping your ring finger on sharp metal.  Love it. :)
FWIW, even MMM advocates small spending like this if it helps you avoid stupid spending on pointless blood diamonds.

[GuitarStv]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

This is what people mean when they say the forum has gotten soft

;P

LOL so this is hedonistic adaptation, eh? whining about scraping your ring finger on sharp metal.  Love it. :)
FWIW, even MMM advocates small spending like this if it helps you avoid stupid spending on pointless blood diamonds.

"Save blood diamond money by . . . making your own blood ring!"  I'm sure Pete posted that article a while back.

[Firehazard]

Now I'm actually thinking about making a copper ring just for fun.  I have a small piece of copper pipe, a tubing cutter, and sandpaper in the garage right now.

[Weisass]

I'm willing to spend 4 dollars to not cut my finger every day :p

This is what people mean when they say the forum has gotten soft

;P

LOL so this is hedonistic adaptation, eh? whining about scraping your ring finger on sharp metal.  Love it. :)
FWIW, even MMM advocates small spending like this if it helps you avoid stupid spending on pointless blood diamonds.

"Save blood diamond money by . . . making your own blood ring!"  I'm sure Pete posted that article a while back.

Gahhh that is too perfect. I set you up beautifully.

[Decibel]

It is bad enough driving something that costs $10K, there is no way on earth my missus or myself would be caught wearing something that costs that much, let alone have to pay for  additional separate insurance just incase it is lost.

[Cassie]

If you have some expensive jewelry adding a rider to your house insurance is usually really cheap.