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by Wayne Texeira  Marketing Director, CFMP

When it comes to protecting your personal possessions and financial well-being, having a home inventory is important. You never know when something happens and you’ll need to file an insurance claim. And, if you own antiques or fine arts, the unique nature of such items makes having detailed documentation crucial so that you’ll receive appropriate insurance compensation if a loss occurs.

Documenting Valuation Proper valuation is essential to protect your financial investment. While a receipt may be sufficient for recent purchases, we recommend having your antiques and fine arts appraised as their value often appreciates over time. Periodically updating appraisals is also wise to ensure you maintain sufficient coverage.

Work with a qualified appraiser who has experience evaluating items similar to yours. Check credentials and discuss the appraisal cost in advance to avoid problems. ...

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Guest blog post by Karen Keane  CEO  Skinner, Inc www.skinnerinc.com

Murphy Insurance is pleased to join Skinner Inc. as co-presenting sponsor of The Wayside Inn Antiques Show. In the lead up to the show May 11-13, we’re please to have had Karen Keane provide our readers with insights on the process of consigning property for auction.

Auction Fees This blog post completes my series on Consigning at Auction. We’ve covered the appraisal process, what to expect in an antiques appraisal, and auction schedules....

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Guest blog post by Karen Keane  CEO  Skinner, Inc www.skinnerinc.com

The Auction Schedule When should you contact an auction house to arrange to sell your property? You don’t have to wait until an upcoming auction is announced. Auction schedules for most major houses are planned six months to nearly a year in advance, so scheduling your property to sell in an upcoming auction is rarely a problem.

Find Auction Schedules Online Specialty houses dedicate sales to specific collecting categories such as Fine Jewelry, American Paintings, Asian Art, Rare Books, or Fine Musical Instruments, and these specialty sales are held consistently year in and year out. Most houses will list an upcoming auction schedule on their websites along with consignment deadlines for each auction.

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Guest blog post by Karen Keane  CEO  Skinner, Inc  www.skinnerinc.com

How to Get the Most out of your Antiques Appraisal After you choose an auction house to work with, you need to get your property evaluated by an expert appraiser. This can be done online, in person, or at your home.

How to Submit Photos for an Antiques Appraisal Online If you’re submitting photos via email or online via a company’s website, make sure the objects are photographed in focus and well lit.

Skinner recommends sending (at most) three different pictures of each item for an antiques appraisal online:

1. The whole object, well lit and in focus. 2. A detail shot showing a signature, stamp, or label; or a close-up of any damage or condition issues. 3. A photo of any supporting documentation such as bills of sale, notes, letters,...

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Guest blog post by Karen Keane  CEO  Skinner, Inc  www.skinnerinc.com 

Murphy Insurance is pleased to join Skinner Inc. as co-presenting sponsor of The Wayside Inn Antiques Show. In the lead up to the show May 11-13, we’re please to have had Karen Keane provide our readers with insights on the process of consigning property for auction.

Are you ready for an antiques appraisal? If you’re a collector of art and antiques or the heir to a family estate, no doubt you’ve thought about consigning some of that property to auction. So what might be stopping you?

I’ve been an appraiser for over thirty years, and I’ve helped thousands of clients successfully auction their fine tangibles. In my experience, not knowing how to get the process started is the biggest obstacle...

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by Wayne Texeira  Marketing Director, CFMP

Do you own antiques or fine arts? Perhaps you have antiques that have been handed down in your family from generation to generation or maybe you are a more serious collector of antiques and fine arts. Whether you have an extensive collection or just a few high value pieces, it’s important to clearly understand how your valuables are protected by your insurance. You might be surprised at the value of what you’ve collected over the years.

Coverage Considerations Even the most comprehensive home policy has limitations on how it protects your valuables in the event of damage, theft or loss. Your homeowner, condominium owner or renter's policy has a specific coverage limit for your personal property, so you need to make sure that the value of your collection combined with all your other personal possessions does not exceed this limit. The big concern is that if you have a major...

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 by Wayne Texeira  Marketing Director, CFMP

On the evening of Tuesday, March 13th, I was in Boston to attend a performance at the Huntington Theater. I sat down in my seat at 7:30 pm and, snap! – the lights went out. No…it wasn’t the show starting; it was a major power outage in Boston’s Back Bay area caused by a transformer fire. News coverage over the past few days has focused on the losses of businesses located in the affected area. Think of the impact this had on the area. Restaurants, salons, retail shops and other businesses were forced to shut down. Power outage is a concern for every business and can cause substantial loss of product and revenue. Beyond power outages, businesses are vulnerable to fire and other weather related disasters that can stop business operations for an extended time period. One way to limit potential financial losses is through business interruption and extra expense insurance. Business...

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By Wayne Texeira  Marketing Director, CFMP

When some laws get passed, we may not even realize it. Back in 2006, a Massachusetts law known as "Nicole’s Law" became effective, which requires carbon monoxide detectors be installed and maintained in most residences. The law is named after 7-year old Nicole Garofalo who died in 2005 when her Plymouth home was filled with deadly amounts of carbon monoxide. The furnace vents had been blocked by snow during a power outage.

While many people know about CO detectors and know they are a “good idea”, many still don't have them, which is a violation of the law. Any home that contains fossil-fuel burning equipment, such as a furnace, boiler, water heater, fireplace, etc., or incorporates enclosed parking within its structure must be equipped with approved carbon monoxide detectors.

Landlords are required to inspect, maintain, and replace, if necessary, required CO alarms annually and at the beginning of any rental period. Tenants should alert landlords if there are any problems and should be able to distinguish between smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

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by Laurie Marinelli  Personal Insurance Manager, CPCU, CIC, AAI, AIS

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Many of us have given or received a gift of jewelry as a symbol of our love on special days like these. While it doesn’t necessarily make sense to specifically insure every piece of jewelry you own, it’s certainly wise if you have expensive pieces…especially if you wear them frequently.

When you “schedule” a special piece of jewelry on your home, condo or renter policy, it provides additional coverage outside the regular policy limits. It also covers situations such as losing a piece of jewelry that isn’t covered under a regular policy.

To schedule an item, you usually need to have an appraisal that provides a detailed description and the value. But, something that we sometimes forget is that the value of a piece...

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by Wayne Texeira  Marketing Director, CFMP 

It was a chilly Saturday evening after New Years. I was in Bedford, New Hampshire and went into HomeGoods to do some shopping. As I left the store and approached my car in the nearly empty parking lot, something didn’t look right. It was then that I realized someone had hit my car leaving a big dent in the driver’s side, rear quarter panel and bumper. After uttering a few choice words, I was grateful that it was drivable, but furious that someone would do that. IRRESPONSIBLE is the nice term for whoever hit my car.

YES…even we insurance folks have claims, too! While this wasn’t my first claim ever, it had been a long time, and certainly I’d never been involved in a hit and run. I knew looking at the damage that it was going to be over my $1,000 collision deductible. Admittedly, I was unhappy about paying...

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