Valentine's Day - A new egagement ring or some bling

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With Valentine's Day fast approaching, the nation's jewellery boxes estimated to be worth £40.5 billion[2] are likely to up in value as wedding proposals and romantic gestures sweep across the UK. Sheilas' Wheels home insurance offers men (givers) and women (receivers) tips on how to protect their Valentine’s Day bling.

Cover your jewellery purchase straight away...
Don't forget to make sure you have added ‘personal possessions away from the home’ cover on your home insurance as soon as you leave the jewellers in case your new purchase is lost or stolen.  Surprisingly, although men pay an average of £1,412[3] for an engagement ring, seven out of 10 (72 per cent) actually fail to insure the ring before popping the question.

...but don't double-up on cover!
Although having insurance as soon as you step out of a jewellery shop is important, don't double up on cover by paying for an in-store policy that you may not need. Research[4] shows that a quarter (23 per cent) of Brits would buy additional insurance from a retailer to cover the loss, damage or theft of a piece of jewellery yet many may already have personal possessions cover as part of their home contents insurance. 

If it's worth over £1,500 you may need to tell your home insurer
Remember that any piece of jewellery will need to be a specified item on your Sheilas' Wheels home insurance policy if it's worth over £1,500.  Also, jewellery items over £2,500 must be valued every three years. These limits may vary depending on your insurer. 

Keep the receipt, take a photo and get regular valuations
If you need to claim on your home insurance for the loss, damage or theft of a piece of jewellery or an engagement ring make sure you have proof of the purchase (such as the original receipt), a certificate of authenticy, plus a close-up photograph of the item. Alarmingly, just three per cent of women[1] admit to having photographic records of their items of jewellery, while the same amount have kept receipts or proof of purchase for their jewellery.

Don’t let it slip!
Over half of brides-to-be (56 per cent) surveyed by Sheilas' Wheels[3] admit to wearing loose-fitting engagement rings for nearly two months (an average of 52 days) before getting them properly resized - despite knowing the risk of it slipping off and being lost. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that 12 per cent of married women have lost their original engagement ring at some point. It's crucial to get a ring re-sized straight away and never wear one that isn't fitted properly as changes in temperature, the use of hand creams and other daily activities such as washing hands could all cause a loose ring to slip off.

Don't under-estimate the value of your jewellery box
Britain's women have a hidden treasure trove of more than £26 billion[1] of jewellery that is rarely worn, or gets forgotten, but it all should be taken into account when estimating the value of your home contents.  Surprisingly, broken engagements and marriages are contributing to the mountain of jewellery that is never worn with one in ten women questioned (11 per cent) keeping a wedding ring from a former marriage, 17 per cent have an engagement ring from a former fiancée and over a quarter (26 per cent) have jewellery from an ex-partner.

Jacky Brown at Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, commented: "Valentine's Day brings with it the excited opening of jewellery boxes and surprise wedding proposals, adding to the ever-growing mountain of women's bling.  Although it's easy to be swept away with the romance of the occasion, it's crucial not to forget the importance of insuring your new ring, necklace, bracelet or brooch.

Not having ample insurance cover straight away could take the romance out of anyone's Valentine's weekend in the event of loss, damage or theft of a new jewellery gift - either at home, whilst out and about or on a mini-break away. All women should remember to make sure that their home contents insurance policy accurately reflects the amount of jewellery they own and that they have adequate personal possession cover in case disaster strikes."

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Sheilas' Wheels press contacts:
Niki Bolton, Corporate Communications Manager: 01737 235070
Asia Yasir, Public Relations Officer: 01737 641305
Emma Lloyd, Assistant Communications Officer: 01737 641309
Adrian Webb, Head of Corporate Communications: 01737 641000

Email: pr@sheilaswheels.com
Visit the official fansite for Sheilas’ Wheels: www.ilovesheilas.com
Case studies are available on request.

Notes to Editors:

  1. A total of 63 per cent of women have lost jewellery, either at home or abroad, while a fifth (20 per cent) have had items of jewellery stolen. Sheilas' Wheels used the independent online research company Online Opinions who surveyed 1,000 women, from across the country aged 18 plus between 15th September - 28th September 2009.
  2. According to the research (Online Opinions, 15th September - 28th September 2009) the average value of a jewellery box is £2,035. Based on 19.9 million women in the UK aged between 18-65 the total amount of jewellery they own is £40.5bn.
  3. Sheilas' Wheels used the independent online research company Fly Research who surveyed 2,000 people from across the UK, aged 18 and over, between 3rd August - 7th August 2009.
  4. ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,001 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 3rd - 5th August 2007. 

About Sheilas' Wheels:
Sheilas' Wheels was launched in October 2005 to offer women drivers cheaper car insurance and product enhancements including £300 handbag cover - for bags stolen from the car (comprehensive cover only), competitive breakdown recovery rates, a dedicated counselling line run by trained professionals to help customers cope with driving issues such as road rage (comprehensive cover only) and a network of female-friendly repairers. In February 2008, the brand moved beyond car insurance to offer home insurance and in January 2010, it moved to also offer travel insurance.