Part of the valuables cluster. What happens when the figures are left to age is set out in when an insured value falls behind.
Every specialist policy rests on a set of numbers, and the numbers come from valuations. The mistake owners make is treating the valuation as a formality — a document to be obtained, filed and forgotten. Underwriters treat it as the evidential basis for the whole contract, which is why a valuation that does not say the right things is routinely sent back.
The basis of valuation decides the number
The first thing on any usable valuation is a statement of what question it answers. Three bases are in common use, and they can differ by a factor of three for the same object.
| Basis | The question it answers | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| New replacement | What would it cost to buy this new today, at retail? | Modern jewellery and watches still in production |
| Retail replacement | What would it cost to acquire a comparable example through the trade? | Discontinued pieces, antiques, most art |
| Fair market | What would it fetch on sale between willing parties? | Probate, division of assets, tax — almost never insurance |
Insurance almost always wants a replacement basis, because the policy’s job is to put you back in possession of a comparable item, not to hand you what a forced sale would raise. A fair-market valuation prepared for probate and then handed to an insurer typically understates the insured value substantially. If the only document you hold was prepared for another purpose, say so rather than submitting it as though it were an insurance valuation.
A valuation without a stated basis is not a low number or a high number. It is an unusable number, because nobody can tell which question it answered.
What the document has to contain
Underwriters look for the same elements whatever the class of item:
- The valuer’s identity and qualifications, and their independence from any sale of the item.
- The date, and the basis of valuation stated explicitly.
- A description precise enough to identify the item — not to admire it. Serial and movement numbers, hallmarks, stone weights and cuts, dimensions, maker, date, signature or label, and any distinguishing repair.
- Condition, including existing damage and prior restoration. Concealing a repair to protect a figure is the fastest way to have a claim reduced.
- Photographs, ideally with a scale, including the back or underside and any marks.
- The reasoning, at least in outline: comparable sales, trade replacement cost, or the specialist judgement relied on where no comparable exists.
Whether the valuer inspected the item physically matters too. A desktop valuation from photographs is acceptable for some classes and for modest sums; for a significant scheduled item, an underwriter will usually want physical inspection, and will say so.
Not sure whether your valuations will be accepted?
Send them over and we will tell you which ones an underwriter will work from.
Who can issue one in Portugal
Portugal has no single licensing regime for the valuation of chattels, which means the question is not “is this person licensed” but “will an underwriter rely on this person”. In practice that turns on demonstrable specialism in the relevant field, independence from the transaction, and a document that shows its working.
- Jewellery and watches — a gemmologist or a jeweller with recognised qualifications. For diamonds above a certain size, a laboratory certificate is usually expected alongside the valuation.
- Art — an auction-house specialist, an accredited valuer, or a dealer established in the relevant field, with a condition report attached.
- Antiques and collections — a specialist in the category rather than a general valuer, particularly where value depends on completeness or attribution.
- Instruments — a luthier or specialist dealer, valuing bows separately from the instrument.
- Wine — a merchant or specialist using auction and market data, with provenance and storage history recorded. The cellar guide covers this in detail.
Valuations issued outside Portugal are generally accepted where the valuer is credibly qualified — underwriters on this class of business are used to international schedules. What is not accepted is a valuation from the person who sold you the item, prepared at the point of sale, presented as independent.
How often
Three to five years is the working rule: three where the market moves, five where it does not. Gold, certain steel sports watches and parts of the contemporary art market have re-rated sharply over the last decade, and a schedule from 2016 can understate a piece by a multiple.
Between full revaluations, three habits do most of the work. Review the schedule at each renewal rather than rolling it over. Notify acquisitions as they happen, inside the automatic-cover window rather than after it. And re-value anything that has been restored, because the restoration invoice is frequently the largest single component of the item’s current value and appears in no price guide.
What an out-of-date figure actually costs
The consequence is not confined to a total loss. Portuguese wordings apply the proportional rule: where the declared sum is below the true value, a partial claim is reduced in the same proportion. Declare €40,000 on a collection genuinely worth €80,000, and a €10,000 partial loss pays €5,000. The under-declaration was not a decision anybody made; the arithmetic applies regardless.
That is why revaluation is a maintenance task rather than an optional refinement, and why it belongs at renewal. The arithmetic is set out here, and the same mechanism applies to buildings sums insured on the household side.
Storing the documents
Keep valuations, photographs, invoices and restoration records together, in a form that survives the loss of the building holding the items. A scanned set held off-site or in cloud storage, refreshed when the schedule changes, is enough. It matters more than it sounds: after a fire, the file in the desk drawer and the items are lost together, and the claim then depends on what an insurer can be persuaded to accept from memory.
Adler & Rochefort is a commercial brand of Ownizo, Unipessoal Lda., registered with the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF) under no. 425591790/3. General information only, not personalised advice; cover, sub-limits and conditions vary by underwriter and by risk.
More on this subject: Moving a collection: the gap between the removals cover and yours