Scheduled personal property coverage is an endorsement you can add to your home insurance. People typically schedule their property when its value exceeds the personal property limits in a standard homeowners policy.
Why you may need scheduled personal property coverage
Standard home insurance often places limits on how much the insurance company pays out for specific types of property, like watercraft, jewelry, furs, firearms, silverware, and electronics. These limits are listed by category under Coverage C in your policy.
Most of the time, the standard limits may be enough to cover your belongings. But when you have high-value items, like electronics or jewelry, those limits may not be enough to fully insure these possessions.
When to schedule your personal property
If you have the following types of personal belongings, it’s probably a good sign that you should schedule those items:
- Furs
- Jewelry
- Cameras
- Silverware
- Musical instruments
- Fine art
- Stamp or coin collections
- Golfing equipment
When you schedule these items, you can insure them for their full value so you get proper reimbursement when they are lost, stolen, or damaged by covered events.
As the policyholder, you determine which items you want to schedule and get them appraised. Your agent will help you decide how much coverage they need based on the appraisal. These items are then listed in your home insurance policy along with the amount of coverage each gets.
Types of loss scheduled property coverage can and can’t cover
One of the primary benefits of scheduling your property is that it both increases your coverage limits for that item and protects it against more causes of physical loss or damage than your standard Coverage C.
Scheduled property is insured on an all perils basis, meaning whatever event causes a physical loss is covered except for incidents specifically named and excluded. For most insurers, that means your scheduled item is covered for most loss events EXCEPT:
- Wear and tear or gradual deterioration.
- Insects or vermin.
- War.
- Nuclear hazard.
There are also some exclusions specific to the type of item. For example, if you schedule an original painting that is destroyed during the restoration or retouching process, that isn’t covered. Similarly, for rare stamps, creases, dents, and tears aren’t covered.
But here’s the major perk: "Mysterious disappearance" (basically losing or misplacing a scheduled item) is covered.
What’s the benefit of scheduling your property?
In addition to providing higher limits, scheduled property coverage usually means:
- Broader coverage. Most personal property insurance only covers loss or damage caused by specific perils, like fire or theft. But scheduling property often means your insurer covers additional events, including accidental loss of the item.
- Replacement cost coverage. Scheduled property is usually written on a replacement-cost basis. This means your insurer pays what it costs to replace your damaged property and doesn’t reduce the payout to account for the item’s depreciation.
- No deductible. Most insurers do not require a deductible when you schedule property.
Scheduling personal property can increase your premium slightly, but it’s typically more affordable than dramatically increasing your overall personal property limits. Plus, these benefits are especially handy when you need to make a claim.
3 tips for scheduling your personal property
Scheduling property isn’t difficult, but you usually need to do a little legwork before you can add the coverage. For example, you may want to:
- Take stock of your property. Do a home inventory to determine what you have, what it’s worth, and whether you can afford to replace it.
- Get an appraisal. Most insurers require evidence of your property’s value in order to schedule it. If your most recent appraisal is over three years old, you usually need a new one.
- Ask about limits. Your insurer may have limits for scheduled property. This doesn’t mean you are out of luck if your property exceeds the limit, but you may need separate coverage for these items.
