No one wants to come home from vacation and face a mishap. At one time or another everyone has heard horror stories involving break ins, water damage due to broken pipes or pest damage. Not only can these problems cause stress, they can be quite expensive. Common sense tells us the obvious things to do. To help you protect your home while you're away, we've listed some things to help protect your home that you might not have thought of.
- Get a professionally monitored home security system
This one's a no brainer. This should be your 1st line of defense. Invest in a system that offers you complete fire, break in and environmental protection. Although a self monitoring system will cost less, if you're far away from home it's not the ideal solution. A central monitored system will not only alert the authorities if there is a fire or breach, but you'll also get a bigger discount on your homeowners coverage.
- If you don't have outdoors security lighting, get some
Lighting your property is a big deterrent in discouraging thieves from randomly robing your home. They're more likely to choose a target with dark areas to mask their break in. Almost every outdoor lighting system has motion sensing so don't worry about wasting energy by having them lit all day long. Many choices offer LED bulbs that are not only very bright, but use far less energy.
- Lock everything up
It's just common sense. Lock all the home's doors and windows. Don't forget locking sheds or barns. Put cars in the garage and make sure it's locked. If you don't have a garage make sure the car is locked.
- Don't leave spare keys around.
It's not really a great idea to hide spare keys to your home on your property. It's an even worse idea to go on vacation without removing them.
- If you don't have one, think about getting a Smart Thermostat
You'll be able to check in on and adjust your home’s temperature from anywhere that had WiFi. Why waste money heating or cooling your home when you're away. In the winter avoid pipes freezing keep your home at at least 50 deg. If you don't want to get a Smart Thermostat at least get a programmable thermostat.
- Don’t advertise to the publicly you're away from home
Don’t advertise your home will be vacant on your voicemail or answering machine. Think beforehand who will be seeing your email auto reply. If it's not strictly for trusted work sources think twice before advertising your absence. Keep it as vague as possible. Everyone loves to share their vacation moments on social media. Just make sure your posts are viewable only to family and friends.
- Think about a video doorbell
When someone rings the doorbell you get an alert on your phone. You can see and speak to the visitor in real time. If you're traveling someplace that doesn't have cell service, when your service returns you'll be able to view a log of recorded video clips. Models with motion detection capabilities alert you even if the person doesn’t ring the bell.
- Make it look like you're home
It can be as simple as having some lights on a timer. Don't order packages you know will sit on the porch or in front of the garage. Have your mail held.
- Have your neighbors keep an eye out for you
Let your neighbors know you'll be away. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to safeguard your home.
We're happy to review your present coverage to make sure you're adequately covered. Give us a call.
Joe 4 Insure: 203-984-0591
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