Every year it amazes me how quickly retailers like to move along the change of seasons and holidays. I say that as if I’m not at all used to it. But really, it gets you thinking about things that you don’t necessarily want to think of so quickly. Seriously, Christmas trees displayed in September? Shouldn’t there be a law against that? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the holidays. But I don’t want to think about preparing for Christmas before it’s Halloween.

Anyhow, not more than a week after Christmas was over, having barely caught my breath from the hoopla of that holiday, I walked into a store with my kids and there it was. It was like a Valentine’s Day parade in the place. “Not already?” I thought. How and why did they do that so quickly? Are they trying to make us go crazy? Parents out there, you know exactly what I mean, don’t you?

Of course my kids, who want to have a party and get presents every time someone sneezes, eagerly started asking what our plans for Valentine’s Day would be? “Are we going to have a party?” “Should we bake heart shaped cupcakes?” “Can I buy WWE Valentine’s Day cards for my class?” “I want to bring in treats too!” “Can we bake brownies?” You know that old commercial with the slogan, “Calgon take me away?” Yeah, yeah, that one. I suddenly started dreaming about bubble baths and floating on clouds. “Mom, Mom, are you listening?” my son said as he nudged me. “Sure buddy, I’m listening,” I replied. Okay, I wasn’t really listening. I think you already figured that out. But for heaven’s sake, my Christmas decorations weren’t even put away yet, and they wanted to make plans for Valentine’s Day? Give me a break!

Well, after returning to work that Monday, I shared my weekend kid stories with a co-worker. Of course I was expecting sympathy from her regarding my journey through retail torment with my children. Instead, she said to me, “I know you don’t want to think about Valentine’s Day yet, but it’s a good opportunity to put something educational out there about jewelry coverage.”

She continued, reminding me that this is a popular time for engagements and giving fine jewelry as gifts. She also added, that as an account manager, she can verify that not everyone she speaks with realizes that fine jewelry has very limited coverage on a basic homeowner’s policy. Reflecting back for a moment on a personal experience, I answered quickly, “Okay, Okay, you got me thinking Valentine’s Day!” “I’ll blog about the importance of protecting fine jewelry.” Besides, as much as I don’t want to think ahead to the next holiday, I must agree from personal experience that having insurance protection for your fine jewelry is important.

Over five years ago, before I came to the insurance world and knew anything about anything, I had my diamond engagement ring and mother’s ring (given as a Valentine’s Day gift to me by my husband) stolen from my car, which is a whole different blog for another time. But anyhow, the point is that my homeowner’s policy only reimbursed us $1000.00, which left us with $3200.00 of uncovered expense. This was something we definitely weren’t prepared for. Sadly, I had to wait quite a while to replace something that I really cherished. If I had only known.

If you are planning to purchase any fine jewelry for the upcoming holiday or if you currently have jewelry that isn’t specifically protected, for a very minimal cost you could be sure what happened to me does not happen to you. Take a moment to contact your agent for more information if your jewelry isn’t properly protected. Consultations are always free and we are always happy to help. It’s the best peace of mind you can get.

 

Comments are closed.