The crystal bowl you inherited from your grandmother is worth more than sentimental value. So, too, is the sterling silver flatware you may use only on holidays. Even the furniture you`ve had for decades is worth more than you think.
If you lost these items through theft, fire or flood, would you know how much to claim from your insurance company? Probably not, according to Emyl Jenkins, a personal property appraiser and author of two nationally syndicated columns on antiques that she writes from her home in Raleigh, N.C.
”Based on my experience as an appraiser, you`re richer than you think,” Jenkins said.
What is your personal property worth? She tells you in her new book,
”Emyl Jenkins` Appraisal Book: Identifying, Understanding, and Valuing Your Treasures” (Crown, $24.95), published this summer.
”If you are like the majority of people I work with, you have no idea how much your personal property has risen in value,” she writes. ”Don`t feel guilty; neither do many museum curators, insurance professionals and other experts who should know. But the police know. One officer told me that one of the biggest surprises victims of jewelry robberies get is when they learn the current cost of an old high school ring-usually one the owner hasn`t worn in years. A ring bought for only $35 or $50 years ago today easily costs $250 to $500 new.”
Not only does Jenkins offer information on appraising and preserving valuable things, but she helps readers sift through their possessions and explains how to make a proper photographic inventory of these items. She gives essential advice on insurance, tips on how to resell antiques, information on how to evaluate property for divorce and estate settlements.
She answers these questions: What is it? What is it worth? How old is it? How do I insure it? How do I sell it? What marks do I look for? How do I get my money from my insurance company? What`s going to happen to my treasures in my divorce settlement? Should I invest in antiques? Whom can I trust?
Though the book is as full of detailed information as a textbook, it`s written in a snappy, conversational style and is full of anecdotes. It`s a book you can pick up in spare moments, turn to any chapter and learn something that will have you looking at your possessions in a new way.
If you`ve insured your possessions, do you have enough protection?
Jenkins warns that there are many exclusions and at least six limitations you need to know about.
”If you have a sizable investment in any of these areas,” Jenkins writes, ”you will be grossly underinsured with a common policy, as the maximum compensation on almost all these items ranges from $100 to $1,000 in most states.”
Exclusions typically include:
– Coins, currency and stamps (new and collections).
– Deeds, securities, travel tickets and passports.
– Certain recreational property, boats, outdoor motors, boat trailers and the like.
– Jewelry, gems, watches and furs.
– Metals-silver, gold, pewter.
– Guns and gun collections. –
