Not-So-New News: MA Regulations on Oil Home Heating Systems

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the newest Massachusetts laws regarding home heating systems that use oil. It’s important to make sure that you are adequately informed and that your home is in compliance. To learn more about the new laws, see the MA Department of Environmental Protection’s website: http://www.mass.gov/dep/cleanup/laws/hhsl.htm

You can also visit our other blogs on the topic:

• http://www.mainsuranceblog.com/?p=77
• http://encharterinsuranceamherstma.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/homeowner-oil-heating-system-upgrade-and-insurance-law/
• http://encharterinsuranceamherstma.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/new-regulations-for-oil-home-heating-systems/

And of course, if you have any questions about Amherst MA Car Insurance, Amherst MA Life Insurance, Amherst MA Homeowner’s Insurance or Amherst MA Business Insurance, contact your local Encharter Insurance today! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

American Bandstand: The Encharter Way!

August 5 marks the anniversary of the television debut of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, so all of us at Encharter Insurance wanted to celebrate! Our friends from Astonish Results came to visit and took some great pictures of our Amherst office.

Then they stuck around for some root beer floats and some good ol’fashioned 50s pop music.

And finally, we chose our winner for our best-dressed contest!

We had a great time and we like to let that positivity overflow into our work. If you have a question about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we want to help! Call us at 888-865-1244, visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter and Facebook!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!“

Bub’s Bar-B-Q On “The Today Show”

Of course, there are always the exceptions to every rule. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that men love barbecue and they love ribs! So what better place to get ribs for men than at a place recommended by men for men? Bub’s Bar-B-Q was in Esquire Magazine’s April 2010 issue as one of their top 20 picks for “Best Places for Men to Eat”. They were also picked by the Phantom Gourmet as “Some of the best BBQ in New England”.

And now to add to their list of achievements, they were one of three restaurants featured on “The Today Show” on June 29^th in a BBQ cook-off (see video).

Visit their website today to see their hours, their menu and to get directions so that you too can “Pig Out In Style!”

And if you have any questions about Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance, Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, the agents at Encharter Insurance would like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Homeowner Oil Heating System Upgrade and Insurance Law

Did you know that Massachusetts has changed the Homeowner Oil Heating System and Insurance Law? It’s very important to know whether this applies to you, since upgrades need to be made by September 30^th of this year. According to MassDEP, the two biggest conditions of the change are:

• the installation of either an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with protective sleeve on systems that do not currently have these devices; and
• Insurance companies that write homeowner policies to offer coverage for leaks from heating systems that use oil. 

Encharter Insurance wants to help protect you from the hazards associated with an oil leak so, to find out more about this upgrade including: exemptions, its necessity, and associated costs, visit the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection or call your local Encharter agent today. In addition, click to see a list of licensed technicians who can perform the upgrade for you, don’t try to do this on your own!

And if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help with that too! You can call us at 888-865-1244, visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Insure Your Valuables By Scheduling Them to Your Home Insurance Policy

While many of us have not found it necessary to insure our smiles, like actress America Ferrera (a $10 million policy with Lloyd’s of London); our legs, like Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance, Betty Grable, and Brooke Shields or our vocal chords, like Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen (a $6 million policy) and Rod Stewart, some of us may have other valuable collectibles that are very dear to us. These items are extremely important to schedule to our policies in order to secure the proper coverage. 

Whether it’s a vintage car that you inherited from a relative or a prized baseball card collection that you have been working on all of your life, if it’s valuable to you, we want to help make sure that you are covered in case of a loss. While your MA Homeowner’s Insurance Policy covers the property that you have in your home, high-value items need to be scheduled for extra protection.

Depending on the item and your specific MA Homeowner’s Insurance Policy, the steps to add additional protection for your heirloom jewelry, priceless pieces of original art and irreplaceable comic book collection will vary. Don’t wait until something tragic happens to look back and wish you had taken the time to talk to your Encharter Insurance agent and simply schedule the items to your MA Homeowner’s Policy.

And if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help with that too! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Encharter Insurance Encourages Volunteering

At UMass Amherst this past spring, I was involved in an event with the Marketing Club where the Boys and Girls Club visited campus for the day touring, eating, learning and even watching a Division One Men’s Lacrosse game after which, the players were available to sign posters and speak with the kids. As the day progressed it was clear that the kids were coming out of their shells and were really having a great time. One of the younger boys even said, “This is the best day ever!!” It felt great to be helping out with such a great cause and it really makes me feel as though supporting organizations such as the Springfield Boys and Girls Club is really worth it, despite the geographic distance.

The Boys and Girls Club of Springfield is an organization with charitable initiatives at heart to help the youth in the area. According to the Executive Director of the organization, Garrett J. McCarthy, the mutual efforts and assistance of the community and volunteers have allowed the Springfield Boys and Girls Club to proudly provide “education, prevention and other youth development programs”.  This great foundation goes above and beyond to help out the young members of the community and Encharter shares the same passion for service. We, at Encharter Insurance, would like to encourage you to get involved this summer! Find a place you can volunteer and give back and serve. You’ll be glad you did and I am sure that it will make it a summer to remember!

And of course, if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com, or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Facebook© and Twitter©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Encharter Insurance Helps Support Amherst A Better Chance

Encharter Insurance’s agencies pride themselves on being active and contributing members of their respective communities. So desiring to keep in step with that spirit, the Blair, Cutting & Smith office in Amherst MA has become one of the sponsors of an organization called Amherst A Better Chance.  If you visit their website, you will see that Amherst A Better Chance is an organization that provides academic guidance to “academically-talented and highly-motivated African American, Latino, Asian, and Native American students from educationally-underserved school districts for college and future leadership roles in the broader community.”

Encharter is proud to help support such a noble, worthy, and local cause. We are excited at the prospect of helping to shape and the change the lives of our future leaders. If you would like to join Blair, Cutting & Smith and Amherst A Better Chance, please visit the ABC website. You will be able to see how you can donate your resources, what events are coming up and so much more.

And if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our insurance office in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Local Amherst High School Pitcher Drafted to AZ D-Backs

It’s not too often that the talent of a high school athlete merits the particular attention of a professional scout, let alone being offered the option of entering the professional arena at so young . And when such an opportunity arises, it is something definitely worth talking about and celebrating.

According to an article by Russ Held titled, “For Ziomek, Decision Time”, in the June 9, 2010 edition of The Republican (Springfield), Kevin Ziomek of Amherst MA, is “a left-handed pitcher at Amherst Regional High School who was recently drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 13^th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft…”.  Even though he still intends to go to Vanderbilt University with a Division I Scholarship, he is keeping his options open: “ ‘I still expect to go to Vanderbilt, but this (opportunity) with the D-Backs is now on my plate…so we’ll see what happens by the end of the summer…Where it goes with them (Arizona) is between me and my family. I’ll consider all options…’” (see article).

So we, at Encharter Insurance, would like to take this moment to congratulate Kevin and his family on this fantastic news and on the wonderful opportunities that lay before him. We’d also like to encourage him to continue with the dedication and perseverance that has brought him thus far. Congratulations, and all of us here at Encharter wish you all the best!

And of course, if any of our loyal readers have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our insurance office in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Encharter Insurance Employees in Relay for Life Walk June 18 & 19

Chances are such that your life has most likely been touched by the devastating effects of cancer. It can sometimes feel overwhelming and helpless, when in the battle against this disease, it seems cancer is winning. Well, some employees at Encharter Insurance have decided to fight back (anybody else hearing the anthem, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, in the back of their minds?) 

Robbie D. and Chasy V., of the Amherst insurance office will be participating in the Relay for Life walk this weekend, June 18 & 19 at Look Park in Northampton, MA. They are members of a team, the Cowboys, and last year, this team raised $5300 with the help of Encharter employees and the matching program through Plymouth Rock Assurance. Every year for the past 5 years, Encharter Insurance employees have participated in a fundraiser for the support of Robbie and Chasy’s team and the fight against cancer. Each person who wished to be involved could make a contribution and then, on Red Sox opening day, they have decked themselves out in Red Sox gear.

It’s so great to see contributions being made to a worthy cause.  If you’d like to know more about the event, see the website. Try to participate in any way you can; maybe see if they need volunteers or there’s still time to donate, if you feel so inclined. Get involved! And be sure to let us know how it goes!

And of course, if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, we’d like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our insurance office in Amherst MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Taste of Amherst 2010

Sometimes, it can be difficult to find fun, family-friendly activities to do on the weekends. But, if you live in the Amherst area, then your search for that ever-elusive event is over! June 17-June 20, rain or shine, the Amherst Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 19^th annual Taste of Amherst event. Well-known restaurants from the Amherst area will gather on the Amherst Town Common to delight your taste buds! They are expecting 20,000 attendees and there will be fun, food and entertainment! Keep an eye out for our Partner of Encharter, The Black Sheep Deli, too. They will also be raffling off gift certificates for restaurants, so be sure to be there! For more information, visit their website: www.tasteofamherst.com

And here are the hours:

Thursday, June 17 5pm-9pm

Friday, June 18 5pm-9pm

Saturday, June 19 12pm-10pm

Sunday, June 20 12pm-4pm

Our staff members love to attend this event and the desserts are always a huge hit. You might even see some of us there! If you do, be sure to say “Hi!”.

And of course, if you have any questions about Amherst Car Insurance, Amherst Homeowner’s Insurance, Amherst Life Insurance or Amherst Business Insurance, our Encharter Insurance agents would love to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Amherst MA, our office for insurance in Lexington MA or our office for insurance in Reading MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”