When you’re shopping for insurance, one of the first things you’ll do is get a quote. But what exactly goes into determining that number? Insurance companies consider a variety of factors when calculating a quote, each of which helps assess the level of risk you pose as a policyholder. Understanding these factors can give you a better idea of what to expect and how you might be able to lower your premium. Let’s break down the key elements that influence an insurance quote. 

Auto insurance is a vital part of car ownership, providing financial protection in case of accidents or other incidents. However, there are many myths surrounding car insurance that can lead to misunderstandings and poor decision-making. In this blog, we’ll debunk three common auto insurance myths and set the record straight. 

Summer is a time for outdoor fun, barbecues, and enjoying the warm weather, but it also brings increased risks of home fires. From man-made hazards like BBQs and firepits to seasonally higher temperatures, it’s crucial to be prepared and take preventive measures. This blog will cover essential summer home fire safety tips and highlight how insurance can protect you against fire-related damages. 

Homeownership comes with many responsibilities, including ensuring the safety of others on your property. Certain features, known as “attractive nuisances,” can pose significant risks, particularly to children, including those who trespass. Understanding what these are and how to protect against related liabilities is crucial. This blog will review common attractive nuisances and explain how liability insurance and additional umbrella coverage can safeguard you. 

Life insurance is a critical part of a sound financial plan, offering peace of mind and financial security for your loved ones. However, choosing the right type can be confusing. This blog will help you understand the key differences between whole life and term life insurance, compare their benefits, and provide insights into complementary insurance options. 

Car break-ins and theft are unfortunate realities that many vehicle owners may face. Knowing what types of insurance can protect you against these risks is crucial. This blog will guide you through the essential aspects of car break-in and theft coverage, focusing on comprehensive car insurance, renters, and homeowners insurance. 

If you’ve got a big event coming up, you’re doing a lot of planning. Beyond picking out the menu and breaking out the decorations, you might be thinking about the welfare of your guests, including what might happen in an accident. That focus on liabilities might convince you to invest in insurance to help, but what kind? Today, we’re looking at event insurance and umbrella insurance for liability coverage: which is most useful under what circumstances and how they work.

There are many jokes about having to go to the Registry for Motor Vehicles (RMV) in Massachusetts or other states’ equivalent. And while they might be jokes, there’s a nugget of truth to most of them. So, instead of having to drive to the nearest center that’s open and getting in a line, what are your RMV alternatives for license plates? Today, we’re going to highlight how stopping by Safeside Insurance in Worcester saves time and provides a better experience when it comes to new plates, transfers, and renewals.

Home renovations start as dreams, then become plans, then budgets, a major project happens, and then your home is closer to your dream. But one thing often overlooked in the planning stages is how a home remodel can affect your homeowners insurance—namely, your premiums and what’s covered. There are three primary ways that home renovations and homeowners insurance interact. Let’s go over them below.

While New England might be best known for its Nor’easter winters and autumn leaf-peeping season, the area—including Massachusetts—is also home to seasonal flooding, with torrential downpours, fall storms, and spring snowmelts. So, when driving in New England, you may also be driving in rain and floods. In this blog, we’re going to look at the risks these pose, provide driving and safety tips, and discuss how Massachusetts’s auto insurance should factor into your drive.

For those who have just made the transition, renting a house instead of an apartment can be a big change. And it can be a similar jump for switching insurance coverages. In this blog, we’re going to look at renters insurance, what might change when you’re renting a house, helpful tips for better insurance, and gaps in coverage both you and your landlord might need to look at.

We don’t really think a lot about our personal liability or that of the people around us, but there are events in our lives that make us more vulnerable to lawsuits and other legal actions. Today we will focus on when you should look at increasing liability insurance due to personal events in your life. If you’re interested in liability insurance related to a business, see our blog, What Is and Isn’t Covered by Your General Liability Business Insurance?

Congratulations on the house! As both a big investment and a big change in your lives, it’s important to get the right protection and understand how that coverage works. Homeowners insurance is as complicated and varied as the houses it protects, so learning as much as you can before you start shopping around can make sure there aren’t costly mistakes down the line. Learn four helpful insurance tips for first-time homebuyers from your friends at Safeside Insurance!

What goes into premium cost changes for your automotive insurance after a claim, a life event, or a yearly increase? It’s essential to understand the various factors at play, what drives them, and the things you can and cannot control that can cause increases or decreases in the cost of your car insurance premiums. Today, we will look at everything from the top down on situations, life choices, and driving habits so you can make better buying and driving choices when it comes to insurance.

Every industry has its own challenges, and sometimes it’s those hurdles we don’t see that can hurt the bottom line the most. If you’ve got a cookie-cutter policy for your business in Massachusetts, you might have gaps in your coverage from either an industry standpoint or your unique situation. Learn more about the different types of needed insurance for MA small businesses and when it’s time to review your existing coverage with the experts.

A new year means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. New personal or financial goals, dealing with new purchases from the holidays, or a new business year. Regardless of your situation or plans, one thing everyone should do in the new year is revisit their insurance. Whether it’s homeowners, renters, auto, or business policies, reviewing your current insurance alongside your ambitions for this year is the first step to meeting your resolutions.

College is an amazing experience, but renting a college apartment can be a nail-biter. If you’re new to the leasing market or were burned by a previous encounter, it pays to go into any leasing office with a plan. Below, we outline several steps to prepare to meet a landlord, sign a lease, and get the right renters insurance. Learn how renting an apartment in college only get better with the right protection for you and your possessions.

Whether you’re heading out for the winter holidays or a summer vacation, it’s important to leave behind a home that will be safe while you’re away. From avoiding accidents while you’re gone to deterring burglary with help from neighbors, preparing your home for a prolonged absence requires a little bit of work and planning. Regardless of if you live in a gated community apartment or an isolated house, learn how to keep your home safe during holiday vacations.

Even in New England, winter weather can sneak up on you, especially with the often milder fall days. But when it does hit—especially that first Nor’easter blizzard—if you’re unaware, your home and car are often the first to suffer for it. Whether you suddenly find an ice dam forming on your roof or are stuck in your car during a storm, learn how to mitigate the risks by preparing your car and home for winter when it strikes in Massachusetts.

We hope your holiday planning has been going well. Every year, we all invest our time, money, and energy into making these holidays the best they can be for our friends, family, and community. But sometimes while we’re making these plans, we miss crucial details. Today, we will talk about how liability needs to factor into your duties as a host, guest, or business and how umbrella insurance helps with the holidays.

Bad luck, bad weather, bad driving: sometimes car accidents happen. What matters is how you react. Know the steps to take after an accident, from making sure everyone is safe to the information you need to collect for insurance, and how an auto accident in Massachusetts requires different steps than you might be used to in other states.

We hope you’re having a great time in New England this fall! It’s a magical time of year, especially for us in New England, as the leaves change color and there is a crispness in the air. However, it also means the clock is ticking to prepare for both fall leaves and the winter freeze for your home. An ounce of prevention right now in the form of home maintenance can help you avoid big problems down the line, so learn all about getting your New England home ready for fall.

Whether it’s an apartment or house, if you’ve signed a lease, renters insurance is a vital part of your protections for possessions. And while getting the right policy with the right coverage should be first and foremost, making sure you’ve got the right additional coverage—from other policies, endorsements, and changes to premiums and deductibles—is also crucial. Learn what policies you should bundle with your renters insurance to get the most out of all of them and the right coverage for your needs.

Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or have been in your current house for years, you know you should have a home inventory. We build up a lot of possessions over years of hobbies, families, and needs. But right now is the best time to get started on taking a home inventory: not just for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ve got everything covered, but also making sure you’ve got the right homeowners insurance coverage.

Whether you’ve just bought your first recreational vehicle or you’re an old hat at RVs, when you take your motorhome out into the great outdoors to live in, you effectively have a home and car in one! And it needs to be insured like one. Learn more about how the different kinds of RV insurance interact with each other, your vehicle, and the possible scenarios you’ll need coverage for when you set up your motorhome or similar vehicle or trailer when camping.

We all know that sickening feeling when you find an empty bike rack, broken window, or something suspiciously missing after a party. Theft, especially in the shared spaces that occur in apartment situations, might feel unavoidable—but it can be planned for. Learn about how renters insurance and theft interact, get a plan together to better protect your property, and learn how to file a claim if the worst does occur.

We hope you’re having a great summer! Now’s a great time to reconnect with friends and family and get the most out of your outdoor spaces for parties, events, or just a little time in the pool. However, all these events and guests at your place also increase the chance of accidents and injury. It’s important to understand how your homeowners insurance and summer fun interact, where the risks are, and how you can improve your protection.

With a business comes business insurance, the most basic of which is the Business Owners Policy or BOP insurance. In that insurance are three major parts: one protects your assets (Business Property Insurance), one protects your income (Business Income Insurance), and the third protects your liabilities. This third, General Liability Business Insurance, is considered a form of comprehensive commercial liability insurance, but it’s important to understand the gaps that might exist for your business.

Auto insurance is party of owning and driving a car, but not all auto insurance is the same. As insurance agents, we’ve talked with clients and walked through many accidents—including the ones they didn’t have coverage for. Today we want to give the same advice to you we give to those clients—to know what kinds of auto accidents not covered by standard insurance and what you should know and can do about it when it comes to insurance coverage.

When we move apartments, we always say how we’ll “do things right” this time and make changes for a better living situation. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly: no damaged furniture during the move, a great new space, and a better environment for your needs. But something is missing: when you rented your first apartment, how was your renters insurance? Today we’re going to talk about how for renting your second apartment your renters insurance can fill the gaps you did (and didn’t!) know about.

Insurance bundling isn’t a new concept—getting your various types of insurance (homeowners, auto, etc.) from the same company makes both your and your insurance provider’s life easier. Beyond the usual discount incentive, bundling insurance simplifies your logistics—things like paying bills, keeping records, and filing claims are easier. But there are times bundling insurance isn’t going to be in your best interests, especially if the savings come at the cost of quality coverage.

Whether you’re new to Massachusetts or looking to cover all your bases with a better homeowners policy, it’s important to know the local risks and insurance options available to you here in MA. While homeowners insurance in Massachusetts isn’t required, almost all property owners have policies that cover their homes and the belongings within—doesn’t it make sense to ensure you’ve fully covered all of this in the most common events and natural disasters?

Every person is unique; shouldn’t their insurance match their situation? Often when we talk to people about their past experiences with insurance, it comes down to money: how much they paid and how it repaid them when they needed it. These two parts of insurance have two major components that impact how we see them: insurance premiums and deductibles. Today we want to talk about the missteps many make with their policies in regard to these two options and what they can do about it.

No one ever wants an emergency to happen to their business—but that doesn’t mean they don’t plan for it. Whether an incident occurs due to liability, damage, or disaster, it can have profound effects on your business in both the short and long term. Today we’re going to look at the consequences of such emergencies—like having to go to court or temporarily close or relocate your business—and how a good plan (and good insurance) can help.

While Massachusetts is known for outstanding plowing during snowing in most cities and townships, there’s still a lot of snow and ice that those Nor’easters can drop on us. These situations can impact our vehicles in many ways. Sometimes that’ll mean a long commute or having to dig out a car—but sometimes those impacts are quite literal, causing costs to the car, property, or even people. When those costs occur due to snow and ice damage, will your insurance cover it? Let’s find out.

It’s that time of the year when the Nor’easters of Massachusetts and surrounding states start grudgingly to give up ground to spring thaws—and that means it’s also time to assess the New England winter damage to your home. Some are dramatic and sudden, such as fallen trees and ice dams, others might not be apparent unless you’re looking for them or after the thaw happens. Below are common winter issues with homes, how to deal with them, and how homeowners insurance helps.

Whether it’s your first lease or not, before you sign on the dotted line with your landlord, it’s important to take stock of a few things. And we’re not talking about just dealing with the moving truck or making sure you’ve got enough boxes, nor just mail forwarding and changing addresses; we’re talking about protecting everything you’re moving and yourself. Regardless of if you have a current policy or you’re in the market for one, learn what you need to know about renters insurance before you sign the lease.

Did you have an insurance policy fail on you? Be it a gap in your coverage, hitting payout limits, or an issue of liability, there’s a policy that more and more Americans are bundling with their existing insurance policies: umbrella insurance. This inexpensive insurance fills the gaps that other insurance leaves behind when it comes to liability. Today we’re going to answer the question: “What is umbrella insurance?” and discuss how you can bundle it with your other policies to enhance your coverage.

As your business changes, your business insurance needs to change alongside it. While a cookie-cutter business owner’s policy might work for a static business, as the company grows in both terms of size and services, you can leave open large gaps in both required insurance and liabilities to your business. In this blog, we’re going to go over the three most common scenarios a business might undergo that could require changes to existing policies or the addition of whole new insurance types.

Did you know that Massachusetts was the first US state to issue license plates, way back in 1903? However, the vehicles and the paperwork behind them have only gotten more complicated since then. Getting new license plates, either for an existing car or a new purchase, requires several things. Today, we’re going to go over all the things you’ll need to get a new license plate in MA, from the paperwork you’ll need ahead of time to the auto insurance you’ll need to buy.

‘Tis the season to be jolly! And while you’re decking the halls and anticipating that upcoming holiday party, it’s also a good time to review the protections you have for your home and guests with your homeowners insurance. We all want to be good hosts, anticipate needs, and make sure our guests are safe This requires an understanding of what your homeowners insurance policy does (and does not) cover and how you can help keep the holidays accident free.

When looking at insurance – almost any type of insurance – you’ll see the word liability. It’s at the core of what insurance is for, the paying of costs incurred by the policyholder that is covered under the policy – that’s what liability is: something a person (or company) owes another. But what does it mean in the context of common insurance? And what does it mean to the larger concept of risk in insurance? Today we’re going to answer these questions, including some helpful examples.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur working out of a spare room at home, a generational mom-and-pop shop, or a bustling 50+ workforce in rented commercial property, you need small business insurance. For over 30 years, we’ve been helping small businesses in Massachusetts match their unique companies with customized commercial insurance, meeting the required insurances in MA and full coverage for their specific situations and industries. See what we recommend below to get started!

Even when you’re just renting, your apartment is your home. That’s why it’s important to treat your renter’s insurance just like a homeowner should treat theirs: not as a minimum requirement, but as an actual safeguard to possessions, liability, and other risks. There are many situations and factors that make getting renters insurance not only favorable but vital. Learn when and why you should get renters insurance for your needs.

After spending all that money on your new sedan, hatchback, SUV, or truck, insurance can feel like an afterthought, with many young drivers only meeting the minimum requirements. For some, this can be a rude awakening when coverage doesn’t extend as far as they expected – for others, they want to look past MA’s minimum requirements for car insurance to see what they are missing out on for their vehicle, family, and peace of mind. Let’s look the requirements and how to improve them with additional policies.

We’ve all had those moments where our insurance coverage didn’t hold out. Maybe it was when costs exceeded your policies’ payout limits. Maybe it was something you thought you were covered for by an existing policy, only to find out you weren’t. Beyond getting better insurance policies, it might be time to look at other insurance to shore up your coverage. It might be time to add umbrella insurance to your existing policies for improved liability protections for you and your family – and even beyond.

From the building itself to the things you own and those you share it with, your home is unique. So why isn’t your homeowner’s insurance? Whether you’re shopping for your first policy or dissatisfied with your current one, it’s important to know what you might be missing within one-size-fits-all policies or just meeting the bare minimum requirements for your HOA or mortgage. Learn more about what might be lacking from your current coverage and the importance of customizing your homeowner’s insurance – including why to use an independent insurance company.

We all remember the first time we debated making an insurance claim, only to finally understand that the “cheap” policy we owned had some very costly drawbacks. At Safeside Insurance, we help people who have been burned by one-size-fits-all policies and want to get the right insurance this time. What makes the difference? The insurance company and the agents behind it. Learn more about how working with a local independent agency can make all the difference and get you the right insurance for the right price.