Specie insurance protects high-value tangible assets, the kind that a standard property or contents policy is not designed to carry. It covers items such as cash, bullion and precious metals, diamonds and precious stones, jewellery, and valuable documents, whether they are held on your premises, stored in a vault, in transit, or on display. For businesses that own, trade, store, or move valuables, it is the cover built for the value concentrated in a small space. We structure specie cover around what you hold and where it travels.
What specie insurance covers
Specie cover is usually written on an all-risks basis, meaning it responds to physical loss of or damage to the insured items from any cause that is not specifically excluded. The items it protects are high in value and often portable: bullion and precious metals, cash and securities, cut and uncut precious stones, jewellery and luxury stock, and valuable documents. The breadth of an all-risks form is the point, because the ways such items can be lost, from theft and robbery to fire and unexplained disappearance, are difficult to anticipate one by one.
Where the cover applies
The value of specie cover is that it follows the asset rather than a single location. A policy can respond while items are in a secure vault, held in a safe on your premises, carried in transit between sites, held at a third party's location, or displayed at an exhibition or trade show. Each of those settings carries a different risk, and a well-structured policy sets terms for each rather than treating storage and transit as the same thing.
Who should consider it
Specie cover is relevant to any business that concentrates significant value in tangible form. That includes banks and financial institutions, jewellers and watch retailers, bullion dealers and refiners, vault and safe-deposit operators, cash-in-transit companies, and galleries and museums. Singapore's standing as a regional hub for precious-metals storage and high-value trade means many such businesses operate here, and the value they hold is often far greater than their premises would suggest.
Where the exposure sits
The decisions that matter most are valuation and security. High-value assets move in price, so whether the policy responds on an agreed value or a market value, and how often that value is reviewed, determines whether a claim is paid in full. Specie policies also commonly impose security conditions, such as the standard of vault, alarm, or escort required, and a claim can be reduced if those conditions were not met. Transit limits per journey, and limits per location, are the other common constraints. Reviewing the valuation basis, the security warranties, and the limits for storage and transit is where the protection is decided.
How we structure it
We take time to understand what you hold, how it is valued, where it is stored, and how and how often it moves, and we place cover with our appointed insurers around that. We review the valuation basis and the limits as your holdings and prices change, and we remain your point of contact if a claim is made. The aim is cover that matches both the value you carry and the way you keep and move it.