Dustin Lemick, a third generation jeweler who worked in retail jewelry for 13 years, noticed how time-consuming and challenging it was for consumers shopping for jewelry insurance. The process often involves many phone calls, plenty of signed paperwork and days of waiting – the jeweler, too, undergoes a lengthy manual process to create an appraisal for the customer by searching for the prices of diamonds and calculating the costs of metals.
Throughout his career as a jeweler, Lemick found that these challenges “were a constant pain.” The claims process for customers with lost or stolen jewelry added to these frustrations, as it could take weeks, or even months, before a piece of jewelry would be replaced.
“I knew there had to be a better way, especially if we could apply automated and cloud-based technology to bring the jewelry insurance industry into the 21st century,” says Lemick.
That led him to launch jewelry-focused insurtech, BriteCo, a direct-to-consumer watch and jewelry insurance company. Offering tech-enabled specialized jewelry insurance products and comprehensive coverages, BriteCo’s platform includes an automated cloud-based appraisal system and offers customers quotes in 60 seconds or less.
His position and background provided unique insights to both the jewelry and insurance industries and how the processes affected customers.
“It afforded me this window to say, ‘Wow, this is really broken,’ and it had been this way since anyone could remember,” Lemick explains. “Bottom line: the process for appraising jewelry by the jeweler, and then getting it insured by the customer, was out of date, outmoded and ripe for disruption.”
Lemick says that they developed its system, which reduces appraisal times by 90%, over the span of six months. BriteCo began offering this system to other jewelers for free starting in 2019, and over 3,000 partners currently use the platform. BriteCo then launched its direct-to-consumer products in 2021. Customers using the streamlined appraisal system can receive immediate quotes via text or email and receive instant coverage coming directly from BriteCo, in a matter of minutes.
“Key to our success has been the creation of a modern, tech-enabled jewelry insurance product that is superior to all competitors with key differentiators,” Lemick states. BriteCo offers worldwide coverage of fine jewelry for up to 125% of a piece’s appraised value, with no deductible – customers can also add an additional insured at no extra cost.
“Keep in mind, our specialized jewelry insurance competitors have not changed their prices in 20 or 30 years, failing to pass along technology efficiencies to their customers in the form of lower policy rates,” notes Lemick. “With most legacy jewelry policies costing an average of 1% to 3% of appraised value, BriteCo policies cost only .5% to 1.5% of the item’s value.”
BriteCo’s primary customers are Millennials and Gen Z individuals getting engaged. This cohort prefers the convenience of purchasing jewelry insurance online directly from their cell phones, he claims; they also typically spend time searching for the best available coverage. The company's customers also include a growing segment of professional women who buy jewelry for themselves.
The company serves many older customers as well; those with increased homeowner’s insurance premiums and deductibles who are seeking a separate jewelry policy greatly are a prime target for BriteCo’s no-deductible policies.
“That’s our secret sauce—we make the whole process of insuring fine jewelry and watches faster, easier and more affordable than ever before by leveraging technology at every opportunity,” Lemick says.
With a recently secured Series A venture capital investment of $9 million, BriteCo plans to expand its direct outreach, engage with other channels, explore other related insurance products and hire more teammates to maintain high-quality customer service and experiences.
