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Ensuring a Safe Home When on Holiday
It’s the time of year when many families will be planning summer getaways. Adroit risk adviser Sean Mackay runs through some handy pre-travel tips to ensure the safety of your vacant home.
With the holiday season approaching, now is a good time to think about how to prepare your house for when you are away. Leaving your property unattended can cause unwanted stress at a time when you should sit back and relax. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your break:
1. Inform your neighbours of the days you will be away and ask them to keep a look out for any suspicious activity.
2. Leave a key to your front door, along with emergency numbers for your destination with a trusted friend who is willing to watch your home and enter if needed.
3. Stop newspaper and mail deliveries. Built up mail can signal to potential intruders that your home is unoccupied.
4. Set automatic timers for various lights inside and outside your house.
5. If you will be gone for longer than one week, remove items from the fridge that might spoil and make arrangements for someone to mow your lawn.
6. Mute the ringer on your phone so unanswered calls go unnoticed.
7. Lock the garage door – if door has automatic opening device, unplug it.
8. Place all valuables in a locked safe or safety deposit box.
9. If possible, leave a car in the driveway or ask a neighbour to park there on occasion.
10. Do a final walk through before you leave and make sure you haven’t missed any of these steps.
And most importantly, make sure your insurance covers are current – especially your home and contents policy. Ensuring that your insurance policy accurately reflects the value of the contents of your home is essential in the event of a claim.