My wife was commenting recently about all of the Facebook posts of people getting engaged at Christmas. One young lady she mentioned caught my attention because this particular woman lives in a house owned by her fiancé. It occurred to me that getting engaged may be a great thing to happen to this woman insurance-wise. Here’s why.
Once her fiancé gave her that ring it is her property and she is responsible for insuring it. These days most people just add a jewelry floater onto their home, renters or condo policy to provide coverage for an engagement ring. Because she lives in her fiance’s house she probably does not have a policy of her own. She would most likely approach her fiance’s insurance company about adding the ring onto his policy. If the company did not know that she was living there they would inform her that none of her stuff, including the ring, is currently covered under his policy. Fortunately, because this is not an unusual living arrangement most companies now offer endorsements that can be added to the home policy that will provide coverage for a “non-insured” who lives in the house.
Some companies offer what is called a “Domestic Partner” endorsement where the intent is to insure the belongings and liability exposure of a Domestic Partner. These types of endorsements will typically spell out in great detail who is a Domestic Partner. These endorsements will not meet everyone’s needs as not all co-habitational situations will meet the Domestic Partner criteria.
Some companies are more straightforward and will allow the owner to simply schedule “Other Members of the Household”. In this case the policy owner could add someone to his policy whether or not the other person qualifies as a Domestic Partner. For instance, the owner’s best friend moves into the house on a permanent basis. With this endorsement the friend can be added to the policy so he has coverage for his belongings and liability.
For the young lady I mentioned above if her fiance’s insurance company offers one of these endorsements she could be added to the policy along with the jewelry floater for her ring. If his company does not offer such an endorsement then it is time to find one who does. In either case she is fortunate for if she hadn’t gotten engaged she may never have found out all of her belongings and personal liability were uncovered until after there was a loss.
If you have any questions on your home or jewelry insurance please email me at jolson@columbiainsuranceagency.net