Scheduling jewelry and watches in Miami: the HO-3 sublimit is not a vault

HO-3 special limits for theft of jewelry, watches, and furs are tiny next to a Brickell boutique receipt. Loss by other perils may still sit under personal property, subject to deductible and actual cash value fights. Scheduled inland marine — a personal articles floater — is agreed or scheduled value, often worldwide, often with a small or $0 deductible.

If the piece leaves the house — dinner in Coral Gables, a trip, a gym — the floater is why that is still insured. The house policy is not a travel policy for a Cartier box.

Carriers want an appraisal or a dated bill of sale with a description. A texted photo of a receipt from 2014 is a start. A current appraisal is better, especially for stones that have moved in price. We do not need a 40-page GIA novel for every chain. We do need enough to identify the object after a loss.

Re-appraise when you resize, reset, or when the piece is a serious share of the schedule. Miami heat and daily wear are hard on prongs. The insurance limit is not a jewelry inspection. See a smith.

If one earring disappears, some forms pay only the lost piece, not the set. Pair-and-set clauses matter. Ask. If you wear a watch daily, wear-and-tear and mechanical breakdown are not theft. Some floaters offer extra. Most do not cover “it stopped ticking.” We will not imply they do.

A rated safe can change the rate. A bank vault can too. A sock drawer in Palmetto Bay cannot. If you travel with the watch, tell us — some schedules want a territory or a limit on unattended hotel rooms. Honest use is cheaper than a denied “mysterious disappearance” in an airport.

List, values, photos, appraisals. Start a collectible quote. An advisor will place the floater next to the home policy so we are not double-counting or leaving a $1,500 theft sublimit as your only plan. Doral and Palmetto Bay — bring the pieces or the paperwork. Paperwork is enough.