The JA Report: News, Tips & Trends from Jewelers of America

Enhance Your Customer Relationships in 2012

Did you know that Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company’s new Jeweler’s Cut™ program can help you kick off the New Year by building customer loyalty and increasing your earning potential? If you haven't yet, enroll in the program today.

Available exclusively to Jewelers Mutual commercial insured jewelers, the Jeweler’s Cut incentive program allows you to provide customers with information about how they can best protect their jewelry with a comprehensive insurance policy. As part of the program, your customers have the opportunity to receive a special, no-obligation insurance quote for their recent jewelry purchase e-mailed directly to them from Jewelers Mutual. Your customers will thank you for helping them make a smart decision about safeguarding their jewelry without having to complete a long, time-consuming application.

Earn Extra Cash This Holiday Season With Jewelers Mutual

Wondering how you may be able to earn extra cash this holiday season? If you enroll in Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company’s new Jeweler’s Cut™ program, you can earn extra money for each eligible jewelry sale. With 2011 holiday jewelry sales predicted to be between $18.3 and $18.9 billion, according to IDEX Online News, your rewards can add up quickly!

Available exclusively to Jewelers Mutual commercial insured jewelers, the Jeweler’s Cut program gives participating jewelers $5 each time they submit a qualifying description of a recently sold jewelry item that has a retail value of at least $2,500. Enroll now so you don’t miss out on earning extra cash from those holiday purchases.

Reap Rewards with Jewelers Mutual’s Platinum Points program

Now is the perfect time to get with the program, or more specifically, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company’s Platinum Points program. Visit JMPlatinumPoints.com to enroll today so you’re ready for May.  In celebration of Mother’s Day, Platinum Points participants will earn DOUBLE POINTS on all new referrals* sent to jewelersmutualinfo.com throughout the entire month of May (effective May 1-31,2011). Take advantage of the increased Mother’s Day traffic to make more referrals, rack up more points, and cash in on those sought-after items on your wish list!

Understand What Impacts Your Insurance Premiums

When it comes to insurance, you need to understand what you’re paying for and how that can protect your business. Appropriate coverage can mean the difference between recovery after a loss and financial ruin. Today, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company looks at insurance premiums in the second of its Insurance 101 tips, a new series to help you make more informed insurance buying decisions.

According to JM, there are three key areas you should look at in understanding premiums:

Protect Burglar Alarm Systems

Have you checked to make sure your alarm system is working properly? Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company warns that jewelers with burglar alarms systems using either one-way or two-way radio transmission in the United States may be affected by a recent change in Honeywell’s AlarmNet-M radio network. You should take immediate steps to assure your store has the protection it needs.

Jewelers Mutual recommends the following tips to ensure your store is protected:

Be Sure Your Store Is Insured

Appropriate insurance coverage can mean the difference between successful recovery following a loss at your retail store... or financial ruin. Today, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company looks at what your store should insure in the first of its Insurance 101 tips, a new series to help you understand what insurance covers and how to make more informed insurance buying decisions.

Jewelers Mutual says most stores should have three basic policies:

Protect Your Jewelry Vault

Protecting your store from “smash, grab and run” burglaries is just one step in securing your business. According to Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, more sophisticated burglars will attempt to disable alarm systems and break into safes or vaults.

Some tips from Jewelers Mutual on preventing safe or vault burglaries:

Be Aware When Buying Scrap Metals

If you are buying scrap items from consumers, such as gold jewelry, be sure to comply with local, state and federal requirements. For example, many localities require a second-hand dealer’s license. And, if you purchase more than $50,000 from the public in one year, you will need to comply with the USA Patriot Act’s anti-money laundering program.

There's more to consider, however, according to Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company. The organization suggests that you ask important questions of your insurance agent to assure you are fully covered by insurance for scrap metals kept at your store and when shipping to a refiner.

These five important questions to ask when purchasing, storing or shipping scrap metals are:

Keep Merchandise Safe from Burglaries

Tonight, after you’ve removed merchandise from showcases and stored it in the safe or vault, walk outside your store and look back inside from a fresh perspective: Pretend you are a thief. What do you see? Is there any merchandise in view that might be tempting? Remember, a thief can’t tell if it is platinum or silver, Rolex or Seiko.

Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company recommends that merchandise should be in the safe/vault or out of sight. Jewelers Mutual shares these other important measures to take in order to protect your store at night:

Protect Your Store from Jewelry-Related Crime

Working with jewelry can be a dangerous business. Last year, Jewelers’ Security Alliance (JSA) listed 1,318 criminal events in the U.S. that targeted jewelry companies. These resulted in 28 fatal or near-fatal shootings. In addition, inventory and business losses for on-premises crimes reached $60.6 million. The good news is that there’s just a small difference between your business avoiding a theft or becoming the target of one.

According to Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, these three simple steps can boost your security:

Package Securely for Safe Receipt

When it comes to shipping product, many loss claims happen because of common errors -- wrong addresses, lack of communication between the shipper and recipient, and poor packaging. David Sexton, CPCU, vice president of Loss Prevention at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company says the devil is in the details when it comes to preventing shipping losses.

He offers the following advice to ensure secure shipments:

Prepare For Crisis With a Business Continuity Plan

A crisis can impact your business at any time, without warning. Creating a business continuity plan before a disaster or hardship strikes will help prepare you and your employees.

The experts at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, which specializes in jewelry insurance for the industry and consumers, advise retailers to take the time now to assess your business functions, both internally and externally. You need to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating.

Start by answering these questions, provided by Jewelers Mutual, and document your answers: