New Jewelry? It’s time for an Insurance Review.

By Stephanie McLain, Claims Adjuster

Love is in the air and some MAX members may receive jewelry during the month of February. It’s a wonderfully exciting thing receiving a shiny new token of affection.  However, it would be equally as devastating if it were lost, stolen, or broken. It’s not always fun to review coverage every time something is gifted or something changes in your life, but it is definitely a good idea to do so.

Now back to jewelry. Be sure to take good detailed pictures and save them so that you can provide the pictures to your insurance company in the event a claim is ever necessary. Even though your admirer may not want you to know the cost associated with your gift, have them save the receipt — either a digital copy or hard copy so that it is available as well. Receipts are important in the event the device is lost or stolen, especially when it comes to jewelry since so many items are unique and hard to price match.

This next part is important for all jewelry not just new pieces.

Did you know appraisals only last two or three years? With market changes as well as conditional changes in the jewelry itself, jewelry needs to be reappraised occasionally.

A good appraisal should provide a description complete and detailed enough to adequately replace the item in the event it is damaged, lost, or stolen.  

Did you receive jewelry this month or back around the holidays?  What about a birthday?  Contact your MAX agent today and they would be happy to do an insurance review!

About Stephanie

Tech enthusiast (not pro), photographer hobbyist, boy mom, animal lover, and Insurance Adjuster

Stephanie Headshot

When Stephanie isn’t at work she’s trying new things from food, tech, games, hair colors, etc. Stephanie and her husband of 2 years live with their 2 boys, 1 fostered cousin, 2 dogs, 1 snake, and 1 fostered bearded dragon. Her goals are to experience the best life has to offer. They like to explore as a family everything from the outdoors, new towns, new games, or even new concepts or ideas for the house.

Reviewing your Insurance Policies

We will make this blog post quite simple for our readers – have you reviewed your insurance policies lately?  Or, more importantly has your agent reviewed your policies?  We understand that insurance terms can be confusing and a bit daunting.  But, that’s why your agent is here.  They can help explain the complicated terms and make them simpler and easier to understand.

Why should you review your policies?

  • Change is constant.  You may have new things to insure or things to drop from your policy.  Let’s get it up to date.
  • A discount may be in your future.  Combining your home and auto can provide a discount – how about some savings before the holidays?
  • Proper coverage.  Ensuring you will be taken care of properly should you have a loss is quite important.

So, contact our Sales & Service Center or your MAX agent to review your policies today!

Photo by Margaret Ornsby

Spring Cleaning – Insurance Style

This time of year is known for spring cleaning.  Have you considered cleaning up your insurance policies?  One way to do so is to review your policies with your MAX Agent.  Think about what has changed this past year in your life that may affect your policies.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Is the coverage on my home adequate? Have you added an addition or made any significant upgrades? It’s important to remember that insurance is based on “replacement cost” not market value. If your dwelling is underinsured, you may not be able to fully replace it should you have a total loss.
  • Is the coverage on my related private structures adequate? The Homeowners policy automatically includes a limit of 10% of Coverage “A” Dwelling for Related Private Structures. Any structure designed or used in whole or in part for farming or agricultural purposes is excluded and can be written under a Farmowners policy.
  • Is the coverage for theft on certain property like money, jewelry, silver, guns, etc. adequate? If not, additional coverage should be purchased.
  • Are you a collector or do you own antiques? If you have valuable items that cannot be replaced easily, an appraisal will help your MAX agent more accurately evaluate whether your contents are adequately insured. These types of items should be scheduled in order to avoid any question of value at the time of a loss.
  • Is there coverage under my Homeowners policy for my business? The Homeowners policy has very limited coverage for any type of business conducted on or away from the premises. If you own and operate a business from your home, you should contact your MAX agent as you may need a commercial insurance policy.

We hope you find these questions useful and that you’ll do some spring cleaning of your insurance policies this month.  Feel free to contact your MAX agent or us and we’ll be happy to assist you in your spring cleaning!

Photo by christinejwarner