Jewelers Block Insurance is a specialized form of coverage designed to protect businesses that handle high-value jewelry, diamonds, gemstones, precious metals, and watches. Because standard commercial property and business owners policies (BOPs) typically exclude or severely limit coverage for jewelry, Jewelers Block Insurance is essential for many businesses within the jewelry industry.
If your business owns, stores, sells, repairs, manufactures, or transports jewelry, understanding who needs Jewelers Block Insurance—and why—is critical to managing risk and protecting long-term financial stability.
What Is Jewelers Block Insurance?
Jewelers Block Insurance is an all-risk policy created specifically for the jewelry trade. It provides coverage for loss or damage to jewelry inventory caused by events such as theft, burglary, robbery, fire, and mysterious disappearance. Coverage can extend to inventory located on-premises, off-premises, in transit, at trade shows, or in the custody of others.
This type of insurance is not interchangeable with standard business insurance and is considered a core coverage for jewelry-related businesses.
Businesses That Need Jewelers Block Insurance
Jewelry Retail Stores
Retail jewelry stores face constant exposure to theft, shoplifting, burglary, and robbery. Inventory is often displayed openly, increasing risk during business hours, while after-hours threats include break-ins and smash-and-grab theft.
Jewelers Block Insurance protects store-owned inventory in display cases, safes, and vaults, and often includes coverage during both open and closed hours.
Why it’s essential: Jewelry inventory values frequently exceed the limits of standard property insurance.
Wholesale Jewelers and Diamond Dealers
Wholesalers and dealers typically handle large quantities of high-value inventory and frequently move merchandise between offices, clients, couriers, and trade shows. Jewelers Block Insurance covers inventory while in transit, temporarily stored off-site, or entrusted to others.
Why it’s essential: Shipping losses and off-premises exposures are usually excluded from standard policies.
Jewelry Manufacturers
Manufacturers store raw materials such as gold, platinum, loose diamonds, and gemstones, as well as finished and unfinished jewelry. Losses can occur at any stage of the manufacturing process.
Jewelers Block Insurance protects inventory in production, completed items awaiting sale, and materials stored on-site or off-site.
Why it’s essential: Damage or theft before a sale can result in unrecoverable financial loss.
Custom Jewelers and Jewelry Designers
Custom jewelers frequently take possession of customer-owned jewelry for resizing, redesign, or remounting. Jewelers Block policies can include coverage for property of others, protecting items that do not belong to the business.
Why it’s essential: A single loss involving a client’s jewelry can result in costly claims and reputational harm.
Jewelry Repair Shops
Jewelry repair businesses temporarily hold customer items that may be extremely valuable. Standard general liability insurance does not cover the value of jewelry in a jeweler’s care.
Jewelers Block Insurance covers theft, fire, and disappearance of customer property while it is being repaired or stored.
Why it’s essential: Repair shops often hold many items at once, creating concentrated risk.
Pawn Shops Handling Jewelry
Pawn shops that accept jewelry as collateral or sell jewelry inventory face high exposure to theft and burglary. Jewelers Block Insurance protects both owned jewelry and pledged items while they are stored or displayed.
Why it’s essential: High turnover and high crime exposure increase loss frequency.
Online and E-Commerce Jewelry Sellers
Even without a storefront, online jewelry sellers store inventory in offices, homes, or fulfillment centers and ship valuable items regularly. Jewelers Block Insurance can cover inventory in storage and while in transit.
Why it’s essential: Shipping losses are commonly excluded under standard business insurance policies.
Jewelry Trade Show and Exhibition Vendors
Businesses attending trade shows need coverage for jewelry while traveling, displayed at exhibitions, and temporarily stored in hotel safes or event venues.
Why it’s essential: Trade shows present elevated theft risks and temporary location exposures.
Who May Not Need Jewelers Block Insurance?
- Businesses that do not own, handle, or store jewelry
- Companies with no custody of high-value items
- Individuals with personal jewelry (covered under personal jewelry insurance, not Jewelers Block)
In practice, most commercial jewelry operations require Jewelers Block Insurance due to the value and portability of their inventory.
Why Jewelers Block Insurance Is So Important
- Covers theft, burglary, robbery, fire, and mysterious disappearance
- Protects inventory on-premises, off-premises, and in transit
- Covers customer-owned jewelry under “property of others”
- Fills coverage gaps left by BOPs and commercial property policies
- Often required by landlords, lenders, and trade associations
Without Jewelers Block Insurance, a single uninsured loss can threaten the survival of a jewelry business.
Final Thoughts
If your business sells, manufactures, repairs, stores, ships, or handles jewelry in any capacity, Jewelers Block Insurance is not optional—it is a foundational coverage. The unique risks of the jewelry industry require specialized protection that standard business insurance simply does not provide.
For most jewelry businesses, Jewelers Block Insurance is the difference between recovering from a loss and closing the doors permanently.