Personal Articles Floater Insurance 101When would a Personal Articles Floater be needed?
The protection provided for personal property under the typical homeowners policy is very broad, and includes coverage for your furniture, clothing, and appliances. In addition, it provides limited coverage for such items as jewelry, silverware, furs, and firearms. However, it may not cover some types of loss that may be important to you, such as the stone falling out of your diamond ring, your antique statue that is accidentally broken, or a flooded basement that damages your personal computer.
In fact, most homeowners policies set dollar limits on the amount of protection offered to cover the theft of items such as jewelry or furs (usually only up to $1,000), firearms (up to $2,000), or silverware (up to $2,500). Optional add-on coverage to the homeowners policy (like our Ultra Additional Protection endorsement) is available to enhance coverage by providing higher limits and expanded protection for special property. This usually provides most homeowners with enough coverage.
However, if you own extremely valuable items, this still may not be enough coverage. For example, if you own a diamond ring valued over $5,000 or a collection of fine arts valued over $50,000, you need more protection and should consider buying a Personal Articles Floater.
What kind of property can be covered?
Many different types of possessions can be accommodated by the Personal Articles Floater.
Here's a quick listing of some of the items typically covered:
•cameras (video or still) and related equipment
•china and crystal
•coins (rare and current)
•firearms
•furs
•golfer's equipment
•jewelry
•musical instruments
•personal computers
•stamps (rare and current)
•silverware
•works of fine art, including paintings, etchings, pictures and other bona fide works of art (such as oriental rugs, statuary, rare books, manuscripts and bric-a-brac) of rarity, historical value or artistic merit.
Where are my items covered?
A PAF will cover most items worldwide. There is nowhere on the planet you don’t have coverage. A typical homeowner’s insurance policy may only extend coverage to the U.S. and Canada.ts are the only outlier in the “where” portion of a PAF policy. These items are subject to coverage in the U.S. and Canada, similar to every item in the homeowner’s policy.
If you have high value, or specialty items, whether a homeowner or renter, you may require a PAF to ensure you have the necessary coverage to replace or repair them in the unfortunate event a loss occurs.
Contact your local independent agent, Jason Shroot, if you are not sure what your homeowner’s or renter’s policy covers. As with all types of insurance, it’s generally better to pay a small amount upfront than be sorry later.
714-988-3325
