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What is Scheduled Personal Property Coverage

Homeowners insurance doesn’t just cover damage to your home. It can also cover the loss or damage to some of your possessions but does not cover all your property. You might need to get scheduled personal property coverage if you have valuable items.

What Is Scheduled Personal Property Coverage?

Scheduled personal property coverage gives you insurance coverage for particular valuable possessions that your homeowner’s insurance does not cover. Typical personal property that falls into needs scheduled coverage includes jewelry, collectibles, fine art, and electronics.

Adding a scheduled personal property endorsement to the homeowner’s policy raises the coverage limits for specific high-value items. In addition, you’ll get some extra protections for those items that aren’t in your homeowner’s insurance.

A scheduled endorsement will give you coverage for damaged or stolen property outside your home. Most homeowners policies cover damage or loss of personal property kept at the insured residence. However, your policy may only cover a limited amount when you’re away from home. When you have a scheduled personal property coverage plan, these items are covered no matter where you are.

With a scheduled personal property coverage policy, you will list each item you wish to have covered – this list is your schedule. Provide a detailed description of the item, pictures, and the item’s value with estimates, if possible. Listing items can be added requirements, and you may need annual appraisals.

What Is Covered by Scheduled Personal Property?

Scheduled personal property protects high-value items not included in your homeowner’s coverage or items that exceed the value the homeowner’s insurance policy allows. Some items that people choose to have in a scheduled personal property plan include:

  • Jewelry (engagement and wedding rings are very common inclusions)
  • Fine art
  • Electronics
  • Antiques
  • Heirlooms
  • Medical devices
  • Firearms
  • Musical instruments
  • Cameras
  • Furs
  • Hobby equipment and supplies
  • Sporting equipment
  • Rugs and tapestries
  • Collections

There are a lot of hobbies and activities that require expensive gear. If you’re worried that your homeowner’s policy will not cover your equipment and tools, it’s a good idea to talk to your insurance agent. They can help you set up a scheduled personal property policy.

Many people accumulate enough expensive gear, jewelry, and equipment to benefit from scheduled personal property coverage, but it’s not the only option for adding more protection to your belongings.

When Is Scheduled Personal Property Coverage Needed?

The first thing you should do if you’re considering getting more coverage for your possessions is to review your homeowner’s policy to see what is covered. It’s also a good idea to create a brief list of the items you want to add coverage on and their estimated value.

Suppose your estimated dollar amount isn’t too far from what your homeowners covers, or you have other insurance that might protect some of your property. In that case, you might not want to get a scheduled personal property policy.

Blanket insurance coverage can raise the coverage for personal possessions. Additionally, blanket coverage skips the scheduling and regular appraisals and is less expensive. But a blanket policy is not enough if you have a significant investment in your custody and want the extended coverage that a scheduled policy provides.

A vital benefit of a scheduled endorsement is that it has some added benefits that aren’t in your homeowner’s insurance policy. These typically include:

  • No deductible on scheduled items
  • Coverage for all accidental physical damage
  • Coverage against accidental loss or disappearance

The two main reasons to get scheduled personal property coverage are because you have valuable possessions that exceed your homeowner’s coverage.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Scheduled Personal Property

While a scheduled personal property policy may sound like a good idea, some drawbacks might make it less appealing.

Advantages

The main advantage of listing your expensive items and their values. As a result, you pay no deductible with scheduling coverage.

There’s one benefit that has no tangible value but can be very meaningful – peace of mind. Many items people choose to put onto a scheduled property policy are sentimental items. The peace of mind that comes from knowing you did all you could is a big positive for many.

Disadvantages

The most significant disadvantage of scheduled personal property coverage is increased insurance premiums. The additional charge is based on the coverage you want, so it will be different for each person.

Another disadvantage to this insurance coverage is getting appraisals for your scheduled items. It depends on the item(s) and the policy you select, but routine appraisals might be required to be performed and submitted. Not getting appraisals can affect your coverage amounts. It might be time-consuming to plan for annual appraisals, especially if you have a lot of valuables.

How To Schedule Personal Property

If a scheduled personal property plan is the right coverage for you, scheduling or listing your property is the first step – not just for you but also for your insurance company. The following tips will help you collect the information you need, but your policy may have specific requirements, so it’s a good idea to know what they want in your schedule.

  • Make a list of the items you want to include in your coverage
  • Find receipts or get appraisals for these items
  • Create value estimates based on appraisals
  • Describe these items and detail the provenance (if possible)
  • Note serial numbers, if any
  • Take pictures of the items
  • List other people who may have the items in their possession or who are authorized to use them

Once you have your list, send it off to the insurance company, and they’ll get back to you about starting coverage or with a request for further information, should they need it.

Who Needs Scheduled Personal Property?

Finally, ask yourself if you need a scheduled personality property policy. Consider how much travel your items experienced and their value.

You’ll probably want to consider more coverage if you have expensive sporting or hobby equipment while away from home. Having heirloom jewelry or expensive engagement/wedding rings you regularly wear often prompts people to get this added layer of protection.

If your valuables never or rarely leave your property, perhaps for a hobby you only do at home, then you might not need a scheduled policy because a blanket policy will do.

A good look at the dollar value of your possessions will help you decide if you need to add a scheduled personal property policy to your homeowner’s insurance.