Insurance in the jewelery industry

Good Day

I have done may research and find very little on the blogs on
insurance in the jewelery industry for small businesses like mine.
Where my income stream is Fine art fairs, home studio custom work,
gallery consignments and traveling repair.

I was talking to Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company and they have a
"Craftsman" Policy that covers Home Studio and consinment up to
$10,000. But not travailing repair or Art Fairs. They didn’t even
know what an art-fair or craft-fair was or that people actually
setup tents by the hundreds and sell crafts at them HUMMMMMM!!!.
That scared me big. But they will write an add-on for show and
exhibition coverage $$$$$.

My home insurance will do Studio and Traveling Repair, but not Art
fairs or Consignment.

There must be people on this blog that have a similar business to
mine and carry insurance. Its a must for one to have, just to setup
at juried shows.

So who is the Insurer to the business like mine.

I have been to Art Fairs and seen people that are on Orchid with
their booths and studios and consignments.

How do you, do the insurance juggle.

Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company ??? With lots of extra riders $$$$

  • Nope My home insurance State Farm. With lots of extra riders $$$$$-
    Nope

A Name, A Number, A Company Please

Thanks Tim J

I would suggest Jeweler’s Mutual. Also, look at the sites for various
membership groups to see what they offer – MJSA, Society of American
Siliversmiths, etc.

Here’s the link for the 2nd one:

Elaine

Tim,

You want a BOP liability insurance policy. We use RLI out of Peoria,
Illinois. Got the name from either Crafts Report or Lapidary Journal-
I forget which- they did an article about it a little over a year ago
on insuring craftspeople. Talk to Christopher Alexander 866-741-6560
It gives you a 1,000,000 liability coverage $50,000 loss while on the
road $250 deductible. I think you can up the ante for more $$ Other
stuff too. I got this when I opened up my jewelry school and the plus
was for traveling doing craft fairs, etc.

About $875 per year. They sent a rep to the studio.

Good luck
Ruthie Cohen
Mountain Metalsmiths School of Jewelry & Lapidary

In response to Tim’s issues about Insurance, Jewelers Mutual is the
place to go, but you need to know how to approach them, clearly The
Craftsman form is NOT the correct way to provide coverage. I
specialize in artists like Tim, contact me offline.

Michael H. Iser
Associated Agencies, Inc.
847-427-3455

What I use is a “home-based” business rider on my home owners
insurance policy. I also carry a large liability umbrella policy with
the same company as part of the home owners insurance. The business
rider costs about $60/year. It has a $500 deductable. When a 80 mph
micro-burst took out a row of tents, the company bought me a new tent
and air-freighted it across the country to make my next week
schedule. My insurance company is Farmers Insurance. They know that I
use a natural gas torch in my studio. My limit on art fair losses for
jewelry is not very high - but I haven’t checked it lately. They were
willing to replace cases if necessary, but all I had was scratches.

As far as I know, Farmers insurance is the only one that has this
kind of coverage - but I’m not in the insurance business either. I
quit using State Farm to get this.

Judy Hoch

There must be people on this blog that have a similar business to
mine and carry insurance. Its a must for one to have, just to
setup at juried shows 

Hi Tim. I have exactly the same dilemma, and I have mostly stuck my
head in the sand and gone without insurance. I called a couple of
places advertised in The Crafts Report (HIGHLY recommended), but as
soon as they heard I sold a little gold, they balked. I also called
an agent mentioned here, but that didn’t work out either.

I wouldn’t expect to get theft coverage for jewelry on the road
without a hefty fee, but I’d mostly like to get liability coverage
for shows. My inventory is mainly silver, so I’m not quite as
paranoid about theft as my gold-selling friends. And for a fluid and
undocumented inventory like mine, it always seemed as though, in
case of a theft, I would have a huge burden of proof as to what was
stolen- maybe rendering that expensive insurance all but useless.
Perhaps foolishly, I’ve settled on eternal vigilance as my
protector.

Only once has insurance been mentioned to me as requirement for a
show. I refused and got in anyway. I firmly believe the promoter
should have a blanket liability policy that covers all activities on
the premesis, but I’m probably dreaming. I do 12-15 shows a year, so
that makes 30 days or less of actual setup and selling. A policy
that covers those days shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. So I, too,
am a potential customer for a reasonably-priced policy.

Allan Mason

have you talked to jewelers mutual i have a small setup that is open
to the public and recently was forced to file a claim. jewelers
mutual came through for me like they were loving parents or the
proverbial cavalry rescue. maybe they will help you with a policy try
google for the contact info. - goo