Well-heeled young Americans like buying luxury items but less than half insure them, a survey by Chubb has found.

The global insurer believes the reason for the trend is a widespread misconception that homeowner policies provide adequate valuables coverage.

Chubb surveyed 1000 “HENRYs” – high-earners, not rich yet – aged below 45 with annual incomes from $250,000 ($347,000) to about $US1 million ($1.39 million) who collect luxury items such as watches, jewellery, art, antiques, wine and sports memorabilia.

About 46% of uninsured collectors mistakenly believed homeowner cover provided adequate valuables coverage, 38% had not got around to purchasing a policy, and 34% did not believe their items were at risk of loss or damage.

But about 94% expressed interest in buying valuables insurance, and only 14% believed it was too expensive.

Theft (45% of respondents) and accidental damage or loss (42%) were among the leading concerns.

There was a clear digital-first focus. A majority (58%) preferred to buy insurance online, and 38% wanted coverage available when they acquired a new item.

Chubb head of digital consumer, personal risk services Amy McNeece said: “Digital-first experiences are shaping how young collectors shop, as well as what they expect when buying insurance.

“The insurance process needs to be easy, fast and simple at the point of sale. In luxury retail, the ease of protecting newly acquired valuables should match the ease of the shopping experience.”

Chubb says its findings “highlight a growing role for embedded insurance coverage integrated directly into a retailer’s or marketplace’s checkout flow, allowing buyers to protect a new acquisition at the moment of purchase”.