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Protect Your Home when you are away

Vacation time is coming up. Many children now have a break from school in February and a number of families use this time to take vacations and trips. There are some steps that you can take to be sure you don't come home to a small disaster that could put a damper on the fun that you had.

• Leave a set of keys with a trusted neighbor. By leaving keys to your home, your neighbor will be able to enter your residence and reduce any potential damage. You never know what could happen. Someone on the scene who can take steps to reduce damage from a loss is crucial. It might not a loss of something valuable in the traditional sense, but if a neighbor can stop water from causing damage to a family heirloom, you will be please that you were prepared.
• Leave alarm codes with your neighbor. Many people have home alarms. Some of us installed an alarm to get a break on our home insurance costs. In any event, you should set a temporary code so that your neighbor/friend can access your property in the case of an emergency.
• Alarm notifications. When leaving your home for an extended period, you should provide your alarm company with alternative contact numbers, principally the number of the trusted neighbor. This will allow the alarm company to notify a nearby party that something is wrong and that person can possibly take steps to reduce the amount of damage or loss.
• Package deliveries. Many people have small businesses that are operated from a home. If you receive frequent package deliveries you should ask your neighbor to keep an eye out for something new each day. Let them know at what time deliveries normally arrive and ask that they move any packages indoor and out of harms way. They exposure here could be from theft or weather damage such as rain or wind (package disappeared when it blew away).
• Make sure home insurance premiums are paid up. This one should go without saying. Be sure your home insurance policy is paid up to date. There would be nothing worse than coming home to a loss and finding that you have no insurance coverage in place to pay for repair and/or replacement. This also applies for your car insurance coverage. If a tree fell on a car that was in your driveway, and you let your coverage lapse, once again, no coverage.
• If you are leaving the country, you should also be sure that your medical insurance will follow you. Contact your carrier to be sure. In the event that it does not, there are options for internaional health insurance or trip insurance coverage.

These steps are a must for anyone leaving their home for any length of time. Home insurance is there to protect you, but it is better to be able to prevent an insurance loss than it is to lose something of special value.