Scheduled personal property: a documentation checklist before you call your agent
Many collectors assume their homeowners policy already covers the watch, the ring or the painting. In Chubb’s 2026 survey of affluent younger collectors, 46% of those without collection coverage said they believed their homeowners policy covered it. Often it does — but only up to a limit.
The sub-limit problem
The standard HO-3 homeowners form lists “special limits of liability” in Section I for certain property classes, including theft of jewelry, watches and furs. The Insurance Information Institute describes the jewelry theft limit as “generally about $1,500.” Chubb notes homeowners policies typically limit jewelry and watches to $5,000 or less. Your own declarations page is the only authoritative answer; read it, or ask your agent.
What scheduling means
A scheduled personal property endorsement — often called a floater — lists individual items with a stated or agreed value. The Utah Insurance Department’s glossary uses the terms interchangeably. Scheduled items typically receive broader coverage, often including loss as well as theft, but each must be described, and the III notes that items on a floater “must be professionally appraised.” Carriers differ on thresholds and evidence, so ask what yours requires.
The checklist, per item
- A clear description: maker, model or title, materials, measurements, identifying numbers.
- Photographs from several angles, including any marks or inscriptions, with at least one date-marked image.
- Proof of purchase: receipt, invoice, auction record, or a gift or inheritance note.
- Certificates and reports: lab reports for stones, certificates of authenticity, box papers.
- Prior appraisals with dates, and the name and credentials of the appraiser.
- Repair, service and conservation records.
- Current location (home, safe, bank vault, storage facility).
Questions worth asking your agent
- What is my current sub-limit for this category, and does it apply to theft only or all loss?
- At what value does your carrier require a formal appraisal, and how recent must it be?
- Is scheduled coverage agreed value or something else? How are market increases handled?
- Are newly acquired items covered automatically, and for how long?
- How often should I review the schedule?
Chubb advises reviewing coverage annually and re-appraising every few years. Arriving with the checklist above already assembled tends to make the conversation — and any appraisal engagement — shorter.
If you would rather not assemble this yourself
Collection Dossier prepares this file for you from the photographs and paperwork you already hold: a schedule of items, an individual record for each piece, a documentation audit noting what is missing, cited market references, and a spreadsheet copy for your agent, with full provenance timelines from the Signature tier. Fixed fees, never a percentage of value.
Commission a dossier View a sample dossier
Sources
- Insurance Information Institute, “Floaters and endorsements: special coverage for valuables”
- Insurance Information Institute, sample HO-3 homeowners policy (Section I, special limits of liability)
- Utah Insurance Department, home insurance glossary
- Chubb, Jewelry insurance
- Chubb, “How to insure valuable jewelry”
- Chubb, “The New Era of Luxury Collecting and Investment” (survey report, 2026)
- Chubb press release, July 16, 2026
- Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, household inventory (PI-224)