Home Safety is easy to overlook. Is your home safe? I'll bet you've never looked at home safety through the eyes of an insurance adjuster. But it will benefit you to think about all of the ways you could have an insured loss at your home.
Here's a simple quiz. If you have done all of the tips after the question, you can answer "Yes!" If not, you've got some work to do.
1. Is your home secure?
-Install deadbolt locks on all exterior doors.
-Install outdoor lights next to all exterior doors, and make sure the bulbs are working. Connect the outdoor lights at doors to motion detectors that go off when someone approaches.
-Install a monitored security system that has sensors at every opening, including second story windows.
-Install curtains or blinds on windows so people outside cannot easily see what's inside.
2. Is your home safe?
-Install one smoke detector on each level of the home.
-Install a radon gas detector in the basement.
-Keep the areas in front of doors, and sidewalks cleared of leaves and snow.
-Make sure there is a fence around any outdoor pool.
-Place a home fire extinguisher in the kitchen, one in the garage, and one in another room.
-Clean out the lint filter on your dryer every time you use it.
-Get your fireplace chimney cleaned once a year.
-Get your furnace checked once a year.
3. Are you living safely?
-When you have guests in your home, monitor their alcohol consumption, and don't allow them to drive if they've had too much to drink.
-Be extremely careful when working outside on ladders. A fall can seriously injure or kill you.
-Insist that any workers on your property provide you with their certificate of insurance. No exceptions.
-Be extremely careful when working inside. Use a safe small ladder or solid stool, don't jump up on a chair to reach overhead.
-Keep your staircases clear. Don't stack stuff on stairs and then try walking around it.
-Don't start to cook on the stove and then walk away. Cooking fires are number one for home damage.
-Don't plug a bunch of electrical devices into a cheap extension cord.
-Don't cover extension cords with rugs or run them under carpet.
If you were able to answer "Yes" on all three questions....CONGRATULATIONS! You will likely never have to have an insurance adjuster visiting your home!
If you have experienced a property loss, whether fire, wind, flood or other, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to the website listed below.
