Tips for Protecting Your Home While You Are On Vacation

While the summer may be over, there is still time to enjoy the warm weather and enjoy a trip out of town. Consider the following tips for avoiding disasters in you home and keeping thieves out while you are away.

Prevent Disaster

• Check your water heater before you go. It can break at any time, and if it occurs while you are away, cleanup and repair costs can be horrendous. Look for drops of water, small leaks, and rust or corrosion around the edges of the tank.
• Unplug appliances and other electronics in order to protect them from power surges that occur while you are gone.
• Do not turn off your air conditioner. Instead, turn it down enough to save some energy costs, but keep it running in order to keep heat and humidity from causing mold to grow.

Keep Out Intruders

• Install good locks on your doors and windows, and make sure they are secure before you leave.
• Ask a trusted neighbor or friend to pick up your mail and newspaper every day. If you cannot arrange this, cancel both.
• Install motion detector lights on the outside of your home.
• Use automatic timers on lights inside your home. You can also install automatic timers on a radio or television in order to make it appear that someone is home.
• Don’t leave valuables where they can be easily seen from the outside.
• Leave window blinds or curtains in their normal position.
• Close and lock your garage door before you leave.
• Cover your garage windows so no one can see its contents.
• Don’t broadcast your travel plans on social media or anywhere else. Only trusted friends and family should know that you will be gone.
• Contact a neighbor or family member who can check on your home every day and who will keep you informed.
• If you leave a car at home, park it in the driveway instead of in the garage. Do not leave your garage door opener in your car, even if it is in the garage. Keep your garage door openers in the house while you are away.
• Arrange for lawn or snow removal service.

Check your home insurance policy to make sure you have all the coverage you need in case of an incident while you are away. You should also find out if it covers theft of your belongings that you take with you on your trip.

If you do come home to find that something is amiss, call us right away. We can work with you to file and expedite a home insurance claim.

Have you ever had something happen to your home while you were away on vacation? What precautions do you take to secure your home when you are gone?