Author: lovelynn@smollerinsurance.com

Yes, you read that right. Mapfre Insurance and Safety Insurance will reward your good-hearted donation to particular organizations with a 5% discount on your auto policy in Massachusetts!

Mapfre Insurance policyholders may donate a minimum of $50 to the Pan-Mass Challenge to earn their 5% discount. Founded in 1980, the Pan-Mass Challenge is an annual bike-a-thon that raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research.

Follow along with this video to learn how to make that donation.

Safety Insurance policyholders may donate a minimum of $50 to Clear Path for Veterans New England to earn their 5% discount. Clear Path for Veterans provides support through a wellness-based Veterans’ Community Center to bolster those who served, with a particular emphasis on reconnecting Veterans to their communities upon their return home.

Follow along with this video to learn how to make that donation.

After making your donation, don’t forget to send your receipt to info@smollerinsurance.com so we can get your discount processed right away! Let us know if you have any questions or issues.

We’re so happy to support these wonderful organizations while simultaneously offering our Smoller Insurance clients a way to save money!

Forbes Advisor compared hypothetical annual insurance costs on electric versus gas-powered vehicles. Check out their findings in this image!

These rates were determined using a hypothetical female driver with a clean record getting the following coverages:

• $100,000 in bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 per accident
• $100,000 in property damage liability
• Collision coverage
• Comprehensive coverage
• Uninsured motorist coverage
• Any other coverage required in the state
• $500 deductible

Read more about Forbes Advisor’s findings here.

So, electric vehicles are great for the planet and will save you gas money. But, electric vehicles may not save you insurance money. Why? Because the repair and replacement costs for electric vehicles are higher than that of gas-powered vehicles.

However, the other factors that go into determining your insurance premium are still relevant too! These includes age, driving and claims history, and coverage levels, to name a few.

If you want an electric vehicle, you don’t have to let the insurance cost change your mind! Simply give us a call or send us a message and we’ll help to get your rate as low as possible without sacrificing your coverages.

Did you know you can insure your big day?! 💒🍾

We know firsthand how much time, effort, emotion, and money goes into planning a wedding. And if there is anything we learned from COVID, it is to always have a back-up plan. That is why we are thrilled to be able to write our clients wedding insurance policies!

Wedding insurance covers any potential mishaps on the wedding weekend. These include:

💒 Cancellation or postponement

💒 Extreme weather

💒 Vendor no-shows

💒 Injury or sickness

💒 Damage to gifts

💒 Special attire and jewelry

💒 Wedding photos and videos

And more!

The best part? There is no deductible for these reimbursements!

You can purchase your plan as early as two years ahead of time or just a few days before, although we advise getting it sooner rather than later.

Your wedding is a big investment. A wedding protector plan will help protect those memories that will last a lifetime.

Give us a call or send us an email if you’d like a quote. We’d love to help make your big day as special and stress free as possible!

Mythbuster: the color of your car does NOT affect its insurance premium! It can, however, greatly impact its resale value.

A recent study by iSeeCars compared the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) of more than 650,000 recently sold 3-year-old used vehicles. Here are some highlights from their findings:

🛞 The average depreciation rate of a car is 15%.

🛞 Bold colors tend to hold their color best, so their value depreciates very little. For example, yellow cars only depreciated an average of 4.5% over three years! “Yellow is among the least popular car colors with the lowest vehicle share and is commonly a color for sports cars and other low-volume vehicles that hold their value relatively well,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Because yellow vehicles are so novel in the secondhand marketplace, people are willing to pay a premium for them.”

🛞 More “neutral” colored cars tend to depreciate in value more quickly, with brown having the worst rate of 17.8%. Brauer explains, “If a color doesn’t resonate with enough used car shoppers it will hurt resale value, even if it’s uncommon.”

More here.

Whether you are buying a new car or planning reselling your current car, be sure to carefully consider its color!

We know March is about to end, but it is never too late to celebrate the accomplishments of women! Since 1981, March has been dedicated to empowering women and celebrating their contributions to society.

Women are integral to the world of business. In fact, according to the Insurance Information Institute, women comprised 58.9% of the insurance industry in 2021. In fact, women have comprised about 60% of the insurance workforce every year for the last decade. The same applies to independent agencies: women also make up nearly 60% of insurance agency employees, according to data gathered by Liberty Mutual. Compare this to only 47% of the U.S. workforce being female!

Perhaps the reason so many women thrive working in insurance is its flexibility. 80% of women in insurance said their job allows them to balance their personal life and work.

Learn more about women working in insurance here.

Here at Smoller Insurance, we are especially proud of the women on our team! Did you know a large majority of our team are women? Get to know our team here. 😊

How are you uplifting the women in your life this Women’s History Month?

Did you know that many of Smoller Insurance’s team members work partially or entirely from home? Here are a few of our employees’ at-home desk set-ups.

Since 2009, the number of people who work from home in the USA has risen by 159%, due to both the pandemic and technology’s rapid advancement. Remote work looks like it is here to stay. Here’s why:

Studies indicate that working from home has many benefits. According to a survey from Global Workplace Analytics, 97% of office workers in the U.S. have worked from home, at least partially, during the pandemic. Of that 97%, 67% had never worked from home regularly before.

73% said they are very successful working from home and that they perform as well as they do in the office. 70% of managers agree, reporting equal or improved performance from their employees.

However, there is a consensus that collaboration is more efficient in person. Moving forward, workers say that their ideal work week would include an average of 2.5 days remote.

The full results from this fascinating survey can be found here.

At Smoller Insurance Agency, we value the flexibility, freedom, and comfort our hybrid model offers. And don’t worry — we guarantee our service is still just as excellent. 😉

Are your holiday decorations pet-proofed? Everyone deserves a happy and healthy holiday season, even your furry friends. Here’s our holiday gift to you: a few tips to keep the whole family safe this December!

🎄 Broken ornaments can be a choking hazard and cut your pets’ paws and/or mouth. So, if you have a Christmas tree, place fragile ornaments towards the top of the tree and plastic or fabric ones towards the bottom.

🎁 Skip the tinsel if you have a cat. Tinsel can severely damage a cat’s intestinal tract and even prove deadly if ingested.

🎄 Ribbons or strings on presents or decorations can be a choking hazard for curious pets, so tuck those loose ends away.

🎁 Electrical cords can easily become a chew toy for puppies and playful pups. Run the cords through PVC pipe or an extra cardboard roll of wrapping paper, or simply tuck them away to protect your furry friends from an accidental electrical shock.

🎄 While chocolate may be a holiday staple for people, it is toxic for cats and dogs, so desserts should be securely stored away. If you want to include your pets in your holiday snacking traditions, consider special pet-friendly treats!

🎁 Poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, hibiscus, and potpourri are very dangerous if consumed by a cat or dog. Place those plants far out of your pets’ reach or use fake plants.

🎄 Many snowglobes contain ethylene glycol (antifreeze) which is highly toxic, and even fatal, to all pets. Keep your snowglobes in a very safe location so they don’t run the risk of breaking.

More tips here!