Watch insurance - do you need it?

If your watch is under £1,000, it should be covered by your contents insurance policy. If it’s worth more, you can list it as a high-value item.

Or you could get a separate watch insurance policy, which might provide more comprehensive cover.

We don’t compare specialist watch insurance policies, but in this guide we’ll go through your options for insuring your watch.

Does my home insurance cover my watch?

It depends on a couple of things:

• How much your watch it worth
• Whether you want to cover your watch away from home

If your watch is worth under £1,000, then your contents insurance policy covers it in some situations.

Most home insurance policies have a single item limit, often set at £1000. This is the maximum your insurer pays for any item not specifically mentioned in your policy. If your watch is under £1,000 you have a couple of options:

• Use your contents insurance to cover your watch. But it’s unlikely to be covered away from home, for example if you lose it on holiday.
• Buy personal possessions insurance, which covers your watch when you're away from the home. It’s usually offered as an add-on to your contents insurance.

Many watches can be worth more than £1,000 though. In fact, 1 in 5 who listed an item added a watch. And the average value of watches added to policies was £3,500*. If this is the case for your watch, you need to:

• Know how much your watch is worth - if you don't know the value, take it to be valued by an expert.
• Add your watch to your home insurance policy as a specified or high value item.

Some policies have an upper limit for high value items. If your watch is worth more than this you need to buy a standalone watch insurance policy.

You should also be aware that the excess on your home insurance policy could be higher than it might be with standalone watch insurance.

How much is watch insurance?

This depends on:

• Where you live
• The value of the watch
• Your claims history

If you’re adding it to your contents insurance as a single high value item, it shouldn't affect your costs too much. Though the higher the value of the watch, the more expensive it's likely to be.

Your best bet is to shop around. Compare how much it costs to insure your watch with a specialist policy, or as part of your home insurance.

Then choose the one that provides you with the cover you need at a price that's right for you.

Specialist watch insurance policies

If your watch is worth more than the specified item limit on your home insurance policy, it's worth considering specialist watch or jewellery insurance.

This is sometimes available when you buy your watch, but can often be quite expensive.

Pros of a standalone watch insurance policy

Standalone watch insurance offers more cover for your watch. It should normally cover your watch for:

• Worldwide cover
• Accidental damage or loss - this isn’t usually offered if you put your watch on your home insurance
• More expensive watches that are over the single item limit
• Theft from your home or from yourself

Cons of a standalone watch insurance policy

There are some cons of a standalone watch insurance policy:

• The policy is likely to be more expensive, though it offers more comprehensive cover.
• It’s another policy to keep track of

Cover for specific watches

Here are some examples of watches and how you could insure them:

Apple Watch insurance

Apple Watches are often covered as standard under your contents insurance since they're usually under the single item limit. This is true of most smartwatches.

But if you need cover away from home or for accidental damage you may have to add these options to your policy.

Smartwatches can often be covered by gadget insurance. But you need to decide whether the additional cost of a gadget insurance policy is worth it.

It might not actually give you any more cover than your household contents policy - especially if you also have personal possessions insurance.

Rolex watch insurance

Insuring your Rolex watch depends on its value.

If it's worth more than the single item limit on your home insurance policy then you must specify it as a high value item.

If it's worth more than the specified item limit you need specific cover for it

Again, to insure your Rolex watch when it's outside the home, you need personal possessions insurance.

*Confused.com data March 2022 - February 2023. Items with over 10,000 quotes only.