Over the past year, nearly 3 in 4 independent property & casualty agents providing homeowners coverage have seen more than 75% of their clients experience a premium increase, according to a survey by BriteCo of 228 agents in September. Another third of respondents say that 25%-50% of their clients received a nonrenewal notice.

The current hard market has presented independent agents with unique challenges, including managing the growing number of homeowners claims and explaining to clients why their policy costs are increasing or even why their policy is being nonrenewed. 

To manage homeowners premium increases, agents suggested increasing deductibles, leveraging discounts through bundling, and using smart home technology to cope with premium increases and nonrenewals.

Notably, 50% of the agent respondents suggested that clients remove jewelry riders and floaters from their policy and move coverage to a standalone jewelry policy. Standalone jewelry policies typically do not report a claim to third-party data services such as CLUE and A-Plus. Therefore, a jewelry claim on a standalone policy would not impact a client's homeowners coverage.

Even though 98% of agent respondents said it was important to inform clients of the potential impact of a jewelry claim through a homeowners rider or floater, about one-third of agents were still unaware that a standalone jewelry policy claim would not be reported to a third party or impact the policyholder.

With agents indicating that more than half of their clients are unaware of the potential impact a jewelry claim could have on their homeowners policies, there is a strong case for agents to educate themselves and their clients on the advantages of a standalone jewelry policy.

One surveyed agent said that they "definitely see the upsell potential with selling standalone [jewelry insurance]. We have been so busy just trying to maintain finding solid [homeowners] insurance that we have not been asking this but will be moving forward."

While independent agents may want to offer clients standalone jewelry insurance, survey respondents indicated they faced obstacles to getting clients onboard.

One-third of agents mentioned a limited number of standalone jewelry insurance providers, making it harder to offer competitive or suitable policies for their clients. The complexity of the process also contributes to the difficulties in selling these policies, highlighting the need for more streamlined options or better provider support.

Additionally, 1 in 4 agents felt that clients often did not understand the value of standalone jewelry insurance or considered it unnecessary or too expensive. Another 20% of agents found the quoting and underwriting process too time-consuming and cumbersome.

The good news is that there are new options among jewelry insurance providers that offer more streamlined processes for quoting and underwriting. Agents no longer have to deal with paper-based systems of the past and standalone jewelry insurance rates are competitive with homeowners riders or floaters, which can save clients' money.

According to survey respondents, agents are nearly unanimous in their belief that educating clients about the impact of jewelry claims on their homeowners insurance premiums or renewal status is essential. However, the advantages of a standalone jewelry insurance policy go beyond simply avoiding the impact of a claim. Technological advancements have made the process faster, easier and more affordable for agents and clients.

“I might make more money in commission leaving jewelry on a homeowners policy, but a standalone policy saves my client's money, and just as important, a claim won't affect their homeowners insurance," said one surveyed agent.

Ben Glispie is the national agent channel lead for BriteCo Jewelry & Watch Insurance.

Read the complete results of BriteCo's survey.