 The holidays will be here before we know it, and your customers will be shopping for gifts. Some of those gifts are sure to include jewelry, watches and engagement rings. In fact, according to Statista.com, at least 18% of annual jewelry sales occur during the month of December. That means there's no time like the present to educate your customers on the importance of jewelry insurance coverage.
What should your customers know about jewelry insurance? Here's a quick primer.
1. Jewelry insurance is not expensive.
The annual premium for a jewelry insurance policy usually falls between 1 and 3 percent of the value of the item(s) insured, which is a small amount for your customers to pay to fully protect their valuable jewelry.
2. Homeowner's and renter's policies are not enough.
If your customers have a homeowners or renters policy, they may assume their jewelry is already covered. These policies, however, usually impose caps on how much they can pay in the event of a loss. If the jewelry is worth more than a few thousand dollars, this type of policy would probably not be sufficient.
3. There's a difference between riders and dedicated policies.
Your customers may assume that the best or only way to insure their jewelry is to add a rider to their homeowner's or renter's policy. Riders may offer higher limits and broader coverage; however, they may not be designed specifically for jewelry. If an item is worth insuring, it makes more sense to go with a policy designed for that purpose.
4. Jewelry insurance is worth the investment.
Jewelry insurance can cover a wide range of partial and complete losses - from "mysterious disappearance" to chipped stones. It also provides customers with a great deal of choice, allowing them to have their piece recreated by a custom designer, or repaired by the jeweler of their choice. Depending on their needs, there is an affordable policy that will fit the bill - and with a gift as precious and meaningful as jewelry often is, it's well worth the effort.
During the season of giving, give your clients some invaluable tips about how to protect their jewelry. If you have customers who are planning to purchase a precious gift for someone this holiday season, make sure they know what jewelry insurance can do for them, and how important it really is.
To learn more about how to provide quick jewelry insurance quotes and earn lucrative jewelry insurance commissions, contact Daniel Husser at RLI at Daniel.Husser@rlicorp.com or log into www.bigimarkets.com and select Jewelry Insurance from the personal products menu.
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 Regular readers of Two for Tuesday know that offering personal umbrella coverage to every client is essential. But did you know that we have developed a customizable declination form that you can use to document that you've offered umbrella coverage in your client files? Click here to download our PUP Decline Form. Simply add your agency name to the bottom using the PDF form field.
For clients who choose to invest in umbrella coverage, here are some policy features from our standalone umbrella partner RLI:
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Limits up to $5 million available ($1M in NM)
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Excess UM/UIM available in all states.
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The insured can keep their current homeowner/auto insurer
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New drivers accepted - no age limit on drivers
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Up to one DWI/DUI per household allowed
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Auto limits as low as 100/300/50 in certain cases
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Competitive, low premiums for increased limits of liability
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Simple, self-underwriting application that lets you know immediately if the insured is accepted
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E-signature and credit card payment options
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Immediate coverage available in all 50 states plus D.C.
Learn more at www.iiaba.net/RLI.
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By Lori Olson - New Business Intake Manager, Goldleaf Surety Services, LLC
 Securing surety bonds can be a time-consuming, costly and even embarrassing process for many agencies. Producers and CSRs can face steep learning curves if they want to handle the product. With hundreds of different bonds available, your staff may not know which markets are most likely to write a particular class of bond, which forms to use, or what information to request from the insured. This lack of expertise will quickly become evident to your client and ultimately impact your bottom line.
Big "I" Markets' partner Goldleaf Surety Services is here to help. With one call, we'll provide your agency with instant access to almost every type of bond your clients will ever request, from performance bonds to almost every other type of surety and fidelity bond that may be needed.
We have excellent market capacity for bid bonds and performance/payment bonds on all types of contract obligations including:
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Construction trades - all sizes
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Subcontractors and artisan contractors
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Environmental work (including asbestos abatement)
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Subdivision and site improvement work
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Service contractors
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Software, IT and technology-related industries
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Specialty manufactures
We also have extensive experience with all forms of license and permit bonds, court bonds, fidelity bonds and other commercial and miscellaneous bonds.
TEAM UP WITH GOLDLEAF
With tremendous capacity, a huge range of solutions, and exemplary service, Goldleaf Surety Services is your agency's first call for help and ultimate surety safety net. Big "I" members can contact Goldleaf by logging onto www.bigimarkets.com (select the appropriate bond type from the bond options on the commercial markets menu) or by calling Goldleaf directly at 1-888-294-6747 (ask for Lori Olson).
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Remember that you can view the following webinars 24/7 by checking out the BIM Webinar Library. To do that log onto Big "I" Markets and click on "Publications".
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TravPay
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Commercial Lessor's Risk
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Affluent Homeowners
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Travelers Select Products (series)
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Travel Insurance
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Community Banks
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Affluent Homeowner
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Real Estate E&O
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RLI Personal Umbrella
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"Oh, by the way...Flood Sale"
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Habitational
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Student Housing
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BIM WEBSITE TRAINING WEBINAR
For all you folks who recently registered for Big "I" Markets, remember you can participate in a webinar from the comfort of your office to help you learn how to navigate around the system. Every Thursday at 2:00 p.m. EDT we'll show you how to navigate the Big "I" Markets platform, including how to submit a quote! A recording of this webinar can be found under "Publications" after logging into Big "I" Markets.
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New DocuSign Webinar Series Beginning 8/30
Digital Insurance: The Benefits of Digitizing Workflows - Part 2 of 3
DocuSign and IIABA (The Big I) have partnered to bring you a 3 part webinar series on Digital Insurance. The digital workplace is the new workplace. Digitizing your business allows you to do service customers and sign new policies anytime, anywhere on any device. You no longer need to wait until you get back to the office to “fax the form over”. By digitizing your workforce, you can better serve customers and sign more new policies Don't wait, register today for part 2 of this 3-part series and learn how other insurance agents and brokers are using DocuSign to improve workflows.
Register Online Today!
Date: September 20, 2016
Time: 10:00AM PDT / 1:00PM EDT
Duration: 30 Minutes
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Big "I" Virtual University Webinars
Don't miss the following education opportunities provided from the Big "I" Virtual University experts that focus on topics agents need to know to make a smart start in 2016. For more information, contact national staff.
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September 12. "First Monday LIVE!" is a free monthly webcast hosted by the VU's own Bill Wilson and guests on the first Monday of the month to discuss the wide world of insurance from seemingly non-insurance topics. Each 30-minute webisode covers "what's going on" in the news and the implications. The August broadcast is in development as subject matter is explored. Click here to learn more and register and here to access the recordings.
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October 27. "NFIP: Change, Chaos and Confusion" In this two-hour session, David Thompson of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents teams up with Chris Heidrick of Heidrick and Company in Sanibel Island, Florida to bring you up to speed on where we were and (as best as anyone knows) where the NFIP is going. Subjects such as subsidized rates, grandfathering, refunds, surcharges, lapses, and the ever-popular robust private flood insurance market will be discussed. Click here to learn more and register.
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Be one of the first five with the correct answers and win a $5 gift card (Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin Robbins, or Krispy Kreme).
Don't forget to answer the Tie Breaker!
1. According to the link in the jewelry article above, which year had the highest percentage of December jewelry store sales?
2. Born on this day (September 6) in 1893, General Claire Chennault led the famous "Flying Tigers" squadrons during World War II. What was unique about how they painted their planes?
3. Peter McGuire is credited with first proposing the idea of Labor Day. What man with a similar name may have actually been the first?
TIE BREAKER
In the claim example on the PUP Decline form linked above, how much did the umbrella policy pay over the homeowner policy?
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BIG "I" MARKETS SALE OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to our agent in Minnesota on an affluent homeowner sale of $14,736 in premium!
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