Filing a claim can raise your homeowners insurance premiums. In some cases insurance companies can refuse to renew your policy. Use this To-Do list to make simple changes around your home that reduce your risk for some of the most common home hazards like fires, falls and water damage.
Trim trees away from the house and remove dead branches.
Overgrown trees can be a hazard in high winds. Branches that reach close to your home, or worse yet, touch it, are pathways for squirrels and other small animals looking for new places to live.
Repair steps and handrails.
Broken stairs and banisters can be a danger to you and visitors to your home. If they trip and fall, you’re exposed to an insurance claim.
Buy yourself a reliable backup power source.
When the power goes out, you’ll be dry and comfortable if you have a reliable backup power source like a portable generator. Follow installation and maintenance steps to ensure safety.
If you don’t already know how to shut the water off in an emergency, find out.
If your neighbor’s home is similar, ask if they can show you where to find the water shut-off valve.
Or, try these suggestions from Roto-Rooter on finding the shut-off valve.
Once you know how to shut off the water in an emergency, make sure everyone else does, too. Share this information with your children, the baby sitter and pet sitter.
Check the water pipes for leaks.
Look closely for cracks and leaks, have the pipes repaired immediately. Check the hoses going to the washing machine. If your washing machine hoses are rubber, replace them with steel hoses. Look for leaks in the hoses going to the back of the toilets, as well.
Remove combustible items that have migrated close to any gas-fired appliances.
Family members may have gotten into the bad habit of storing things close to a gas HVAC system, or a gas dryer. Move those items elsewhere to reduce your fire risk.
Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly and check the charge on your fire extinguishers.
The winter holidays are the prime time for house fires. Update your detectors with Consumer Reports Magazine’s top-rated smoke detector, the Kidde Model Pi9010 Dual Sensor
Also make it a point to correspond with your insurance companies. Let them know what you’re doing to help manage their liability.
If you put smoke alarms in every bedroom, on every floor, and in other areas where fires are like to start (kitchen, garage….), let the insurance company know.
If you had your roof inspected to ensure it makes it through the rainy/snow season, let the insurance company know.
Let your insurance company know that you have a fire extinguisher in the home and that everyone knows where it is and how to use it.
Let the insurance company know.
Make a disaster evacuation plan and make sure everyone knows the plan, and let your insurance company know. Send them a copy of the plan. Make a video of the home’s occupants practicing evacuation and send a copy to the insurance company.
Ensure that you have a list of emergency personnel (doctors, plumbers, gas & electric company, etc.) and that everyone knows where it is. Make sure everyone knows how to call 911. Give your insurance company a copy of the list.
These are secrets that I learned when I worked in the insurance industry 35 years ago, and by practicing them faithfully each year, my premiums don’t go up anywhere near the industry average.
These are all excellent suggestions Russel. We really value an expert opinion, you’ve thought of things the rest of us would never have even considered… a video of the evacuation plan for instance. Thanks again for taking the time to read and comment, always appreciated!