Vargas & Vargas Insurance

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Dorchester, MA 02124

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Should You Insure Your Pricey Gifts?

Couple exchanging pricey gifts that require additional insurance

The hallmark of the holiday season is purchasing and exchanging gifts with your loved ones. It makes the festive season memorable. So before you stroll out of the jewelers with a $10,000 necklace, make sure you insure any pricey gifts.

Gifts like contemporary art, collectibles, and heirlooms also need insurance coverage. For such items, you can include them in your home insurance coverage with a scheduled floater, rider, or endorsement. Your insurance provider will take you through the steps.

Tips to Insure Your Pricey Gifts

The gifts like art and heirlooms that could increase in value, fur, and jewelry usually need receipts or an appraisal letter from certified professionals to get insurance coverage. Below are tips on how to get the right insurance for your expensive gifts:

1. Consider Standalone Policies for Your Expensive Gifts

If the person you’re gifting doesn’t have home or condominium insurance, then you can consider getting a standalone policy for that gift. It may even be beneficial to view a standalone policy. Here’s why:

  • If the gift is for business/work, then a standalone policy would be the best option.
  • If the gift requires a different policy, such as a classic car, a standalone policy also makes sense.

2. Get Special Coverage for Expensive Items That Gain Value

For expensive jewelry and contemporary art that will gain value, you need insurance cover with a rider paying the increased value if the item gets damaged or stolen. You can include such things in a home insurance policy if you live with your loved one.

 A standalone policy may also apply here. To keep the policy in place, you will need to get an annual appraisal for two or three years.

3. Take Careful Consideration for Travel and Shipping

Always use a professional shipper and packer when sending fine art to ensure that it doesn’t get damaged before it arrives. Make sure your shipper has insurance to safeguard against theft or damage. The last thing you want is for your pricey gifts to be stolen or damaged before it reaches your loved one.

If you’re in the Boston, Massachusetts area, then you should check out Vargas & Vargas Insurance for all your insurance needs. We will customize your insurance coverage to meet your needs and price point, so feel free to contact us here.

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Best and Worst Places to Store Your Wedding Rings

When you get married, you may think that you will never take your wedding rings off. And while some people don’t, many prefer to err on the side of caution occasionally, like when things in the kitchen get messy (mixing meatloaf or kneading dough), when using harsh cleaning products, or when exercising.

If you are the kind of person that occasionally takes your ring or rings off, where do you put it? Here are some tips on what to do (and what not to do) with your precious jewelry:

  • DO store your rings in a fabric pouch or a ring box
  • DO put your rings in a memorable place
  • DON’T put your rings on the edge of a sink or counter
  • DO opt for a drawer where the rings can’t fall into the drain or trash
  • DON’T leave your rings in a locker when you’re at the gym
  • DON’T put your rings in your pocket – they could fall out or go through the wash
  • DO thread your rings onto a necklace if you need to take them off in a pinch

To make sure that your expensive jewelry is protected, ask your Massachusetts insurance agent about using a jewelry rider. This rider is typically an addition to your home insurancerenters insurance or condominium insurance that covers expensive items, like jewelry, art, collections, and more. This is especially important because your home or renters insurance may not fully protect expensive items like these – call 617-298-0655 and ask your insurance agent for a full explanation.

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Support Small Businesses This Holiday Season

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The end of the year is quickly approaching, and for many people that means it’s time to start shopping. Whether you need presents or hostess gifts, you’re going to have a lot of options of where to shop this holiday season. Instead of going to a big box store or ordering online, try shopping at local small businesses! There are many amazing small businesses in our area, and supporting local small businesses has lots of benefits:

  • Encourages local character by promoting individuality
  • Increases community involvement and well-being
  • Keeps wealth local and encourages local prosperity
  • Boosts the local economy with more jobs and better wages
  • Fuels entrepreneurship and innovation in the community
  • Helps sustain the environment and reduce pollution by reducing sprawl

In addition to helping the community, you may find that you benefit personally from doing your shopping at smaller establishments. You will find more unique items than at larger retailers, and you will often receive more personalized and more attentive customer service while at smaller businesses.

If you want to take your support of small businesses to the next level, shop locally for the ingredients to your holiday meals! You can find great local produce around the Greater Boston area, and it will be fresher than what you get at the grocery store.

And one more thing – if you need insurance, you can get the same benefits that are listed above by shopping locally. Ask us for more information about why getting insurance from a local independent insurance agency is the way to go.   We can help you with your Massachusetts automobile, homeowners, business and life insurance.

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