Armed Robbery Cleared Out $500k in Diamonds: Jewelers Block Insurance Saved Us!
Two Minutes, Three Trays, and a Lifetime of Work Gone
My uncle has owned a jewelry store for 30 years. Last year, two men with hammers smashed his display cases and, in less than two minutes, scooped up three trays of diamond engagement rings. The loss was over $500,000. He was devastated, watching his life’s work walk out the door. A standard business policy would have paid almost nothing. But his specialized Jewelers Block policy was designed for this exact nightmare. It covered the full, catastrophic loss of his inventory, allowing him to rebuild his business instead of declaring bankruptcy.
Fort Knox Protection: Why Jewelry Stores Need Specialized Jewelers Block Insurance
Your Home Has a Lock. The Gold Reserve Has a Fortress.
My friend owns a small clothing boutique; her insurance is a simple lock on the door. My other friend owns a jewelry store; her insurance is a fortress. A normal business policy is not designed to handle the immense, concentrated value of jewelry. A specialized Jewelers Block policy is different. It’s a single, seamless package that combines coverage for high-value inventory, property, goods in transit, and customer property. It’s the Fort Knox of insurance, built specifically to protect a business where a handbag-sized space can hold a million dollars.
Jewelers Block Policy Explained: Covering Inventory, Property, Transit, Customer Goods!
The “Four Cs” of Our Insurance Coverage
Our store manager explains our Jewelers Block policy using his own “Four Cs.” The first is Coverage for our inventory—the diamonds in the vault. The second is Coverage for our property—the custom display cases and lighting. The third is Coverage for goods in transit—the necklace being shipped to a client. And the fourth is Coverage for our customers’ property—the watch left for repair. He says it’s a single, powerful policy that protects everything of value, whether we own it, are shipping it, or are just borrowing it.
Crime Coverage is PARAMOUNT: Armed Robbery, Smash & Grabs, Employee Dishonesty!
The Three-Headed Dragon of Jewelry Store Theft
A veteran jeweler told me he faces a three-headed dragon of crime. The first head is the violent, armed robber who comes in during the day. The second is the “smash-and-grab” thief who breaks the window at night. The third, and most painful, is the dishonest employee who steals one small piece at a time over many years. A Jewelers Block policy is the only sword that can fight all three heads. It’s a specialized crime policy at its core, designed to cover the unique and severe theft risks of the industry.
Mysterious Disappearance Coverage for High-Value Inventory? Often Included!
The Vanishing Diamond
At my first job in a jewelry store, we did our month-end inventory, and my stomach dropped. A specific, two-carat diamond worth $30,000 that was in the vault yesterday was simply… gone. There was no sign of theft, no error in the logs. It had mysteriously disappeared. On a standard policy, that’s an uninsured loss. But our Jewelers Block policy included “mysterious disappearance” coverage. It’s a critical, specialized feature that protects against the unexplained loss of a specific, high-value item, a jeweler’s absolute worst nightmare.
Property Insurance Component for Store Build-Out, Safes, Tools
The Fire That Melted More Than Gold
A fire broke out in the jewelry store down the street. While the news focused on the jewelry, the owner told me the other losses were immense. His Jewelers Block policy didn’t just cover the inventory. It paid to replace his half-ton, high-security vault door that was damaged by the heat. It covered the custom-built, velvet-lined display cases and the specialized laser-welding tools his jewelers used for repairs. It’s a policy that protects the entire, highly-specialized environment of the store.
General Liability for Customer Slips/Falls in Your Store
The Sparkle in Her Eye and the Spill on the Floor
A customer was mesmerized, staring at a tray of engagement rings. Completely distracted by the sparkle, she didn’t see a small wet spot on the polished floor from a previous customer’s umbrella. She slipped and took a bad fall, fracturing her wrist. The lawsuit that followed had nothing to do with diamonds. It was a simple slip-and-fall. The General Liability portion of our Jewelers Block policy is designed for these everyday risks, proving that even in a store full of treasures, the most common danger is mundane.
Workers’ Comp for Jewelers, Sales Staff, Security Guards?
A Different Kind of Risk Behind the Counter
People think working at a jewelry store is glamorous, but it carries unique risks that require a separate Workers’ Comp policy. Our bench jeweler developed carpal tunnel from years of intricate setting work. A sales associate strained her back lifting a heavy tray of gold bracelets. And most seriously, our security guard was injured during a robbery attempt. Workers’ Compensation is the mandatory coverage that protects every member of the team, whether their injury comes from a repetitive motion or a violent confrontation.
Comparing Jewelers Block Policies from Specialized Insurers (Lloyd’s Market?)
You Can’t Insure Diamonds with Your Car Insurance Agent
When my boss first opened his jewelry store, he called his local insurance agent. The agent had no idea how to insure him. He learned that a handful of specialty insurers, like Jewelers Mutual, and syndicates at Lloyd’s of London, are the only ones with the financial strength and expertise to underwrite the immense, concentrated risk of a jewelry store. You need a specialized broker who has access to this exclusive market. You can’t buy this kind of protection from a company that primarily insures homes and cars.
Does Your Policy Cover Inventory While Off-Premises (Shows, Appraisals, Memo)?
The Briefcase That Left with the Salesman
Our top salesman was visiting a wealthy client’s home with a briefcase containing over $200,000 worth of diamond necklaces. His car was broken into, and the briefcase was stolen. A normal policy would cover nothing. But our Jewelers Block policy is designed for this. It has a specific limit for “off-premises” inventory. It also covers jewelry that is “on memorandum,” meaning it’s been lent to another dealer to show a client. It’s insurance that travels with the jewels, wherever they go.
Filing Claims After a Robbery or Major Theft: Intense Investigations!
The Robbery Was Over in a Minute, The Claim Took a Year
After our store was robbed, we filed a claim with our Jewelers Block insurer. It was nothing like a simple car insurance claim. They sent in a team of specialized investigators, many of them former FBI agents. They took sworn statements from every employee, performed polygraph tests, and audited our inventory records and security procedures for the last five years. They are experts at sniffing out fraud. For a multi-million-dollar theft claim, the investigation is incredibly intense and can take months, or even years, to resolve.
Getting My Ring Cleaned: Trusting the Jeweler’s Bailee Coverage (Part of Block Policy!)
The Most Trusting Thing You Can Do
I left my engagement ring, the most precious thing I own, with my local jeweler for a simple cleaning and prong check. As I walked out of the store empty-handed, I had a flash of anxiety. What if there’s a fire? What if they get robbed? The reason I can trust them is their insurance. A Jewelers Block policy includes “Bailee’s Coverage,” which insures my property while it is in their “care, custody, or control.” It’s the invisible handshake that financially guarantees that trust.
Strict Security Requirements MANDATED by Jewelers Block Insurers (Safes, Alarms, Cameras!)
Our Insurer is Our Head of Security
Before an insurance company would even give us a quote for our Jewelers Block policy, they sent us a 10-page security survey. We were required to install a specific, UL-rated TRTL-30×6 safe, a dual-redundancy central station alarm system, and 32 high-definition cameras. Our policy has a “security warranty,” meaning if we forget to set the alarm one night and get robbed, our entire claim could be denied. In the jewelry business, your insurer doesn’t just suggest security; they mandate it.
Coverage for Damage During Jewelry Repair or Custom Work?
The Slip of the Pliers and the Shattered Emerald
A customer brought us a magnificent, but fragile, emerald worth $50,000 to be set in a new ring. During the delicate setting process, our master jeweler’s tool slipped, and he cracked the precious stone, rendering it worthless. It was a catastrophic, heartbreaking mistake. Our Jewelers Block policy, with its robust Bailee’s coverage for customer property, was designed for this exact scenario. It covered the full value of the damaged stone, protecting our business from a single, devastating slip of the hand.
Protecting Your Precious Inventory and Business Reputation
Your Vault and Your Good Name
For a jeweler, your inventory in the vault and your reputation in the community are your two most precious assets. A major, uninsured loss doesn’t just hurt you financially; it destroys your reputation. A store that gets “cleaned out” is seen as insecure, and customers will no longer trust you with their valuable pieces for repair. A good Jewelers Block policy protects both assets. It replaces the lost inventory, allowing you to stay in business, which in turn preserves your reputation for stability and trustworthiness.
Professional Liability If You Provide Appraisals? (Often Separate E&O)
The Appraisal That Led to a Lawsuit
A customer brought in her grandmother’s ring. Our gemologist appraised it for insurance purposes at $5,000. A year later, the customer tried to sell the ring and was told it was only worth $1,000. She sued our store for negligence, claiming she overpaid for her insurance based on our faulty professional opinion. Our Jewelers Block policy does NOT cover this. For appraisal work, we need a separate Errors & Omissions (E&O) policy. It protects us from mistakes made in our role as expert consultants.
Travel/Shipping Coverage for Sending High-Value Pieces
The Rules for Shipping a Rolex
A client in another state purchased a $25,000 Rolex from us. We couldn’t just drop it in a regular UPS box. Our Jewelers Block policy has very strict requirements for shipping. To be covered, we had to use a specific, approved carrier like FedEx Custom Critical or USPS Registered Mail, and we had to declare a specific value. If we had used a cheaper shipping method and the package vanished, our insurer would have denied the claim completely for violating the policy’s transit warranty.
Understanding Deductibles for Different Types of Losses (Theft vs. Damage)
Two Claims, Two Different Deductibles
Our jewelry store had a tough year. First, a broken water pipe caused $100,000 in damage to our showroom. We paid our $10,000 property damage deductible. A few months later, we were robbed of $100,000 in inventory. For that claim, we had to pay a much higher, $25,000 theft deductible. Jewelers Block policies often have a tiered deductible structure. The deductible for a common peril like fire might be low, while the deductible for a high-risk peril like robbery or mysterious disappearance is significantly higher.
Employee Dishonesty Coverage Limits Need to Be High!
The Manager Who Swapped Diamonds with Dust
The owner of a jewelry store I know hired an outside firm to audit his inventory. They discovered his trusted store manager of 15 years had been systematically stealing small diamonds and replacing them with near-identical cubic zirconia. The total theft was estimated at over $400,000. The store’s “Employee Dishonesty” coverage, part of their Jewelers Block, had a limit of only $100,000. The owner had never imagined a betrayal on that scale. It was a brutal lesson that this coverage needs to be high enough to cover a long-term, sophisticated internal scheme.
Jewelers Block Insurance: Protecting Priceless Assets
The Business of Forever
Jewelers sell items that represent forever—engagement, anniversary, legacy. But the business of “forever” is incredibly risky. It deals in concentrated wealth, high crime risk, and immense trust. A Jewelers Block insurance policy is the powerful, pragmatic financial tool that makes this business possible. It protects the jeweler’s own assets so they can focus on protecting their clients’ most priceless moments and memories. It’s the solid-gold security that backs up the business of “I do.”