Posts by kclark:
- Check your heating equipment regularly—and at least annually.
- Keep exterior vents clear of snow, shrubbery or other debris.
- Schedule professional cleanings for flues and chimneys once a year.
- Install at least one carbon monoxide detector per household, near the bedrooms. Additional detectors on every level provide extra protection.
- Turn off space heaters when you leave a room or get ready to sleep.
- Keep space heaters at least three feet away from walls and flammable objects such as bedding and curtains.
- Make sure your electric space heater’s cord isn’t damaged or frayed. Never use extension cords with space heaters.
- Never leave a fire in a fireplace unattended.
- Clean and inspect dampers and flues.
- Install smoke detectors per the manufacturer’s instructions. Check them monthly and change the batteries at least annually.
- Protect yourself and others. Always be careful before entering a damaged building. If your property has sustained serious structural damage or if there are any doubts about its safety, contact local government officials to determine the status of your home before entering.
- Report downed power lines or gas leaks to the utility company.
- Keep electricity turned off if there is standing water in the house.
- Never touch electrical components while standing in water.
- If your safety appears at risk, leave the premises immediately.
- Immediately contact your insurance representative to report how, when and where the damage occurred. Provide a general description of the damage and if possible, have your policy number handy. Make a note of your Claim Handler’s name and telephone number as soon as you have them.
- Keep damaged items until your Claim Handler has visited your home and consider photographing or videotaping the damage where it occurred for further documentation
- Prepare a list of damaged or lost items and provide receipts for those items if possible.
- If your home is unsafe or damage is so extensive that you cannot live there, keep records of all additional expenses incurred as a result. Your Claim Handler can offer you an advance against the total settlement amount of your claim.
- Draw a floor plan or map of your home, including windows and doors
- Mark the location of every smoke alarm
- Indicate two exit strategies for each room
- Walk through your house together as a family, noting all possible exits and escape routes
- Check that routes are clear and that windows and doors open easily
- Choose an outside landmark, such as a light post or mailbox, that’s a safe distance from your house where everyone can meet after they’ve escaped the fire. Mark this site on your plan.
- Don’t pour water on a grease fire. Also, don’t use a fire extinguisher on a pan fire – both can spread the flames and intensify the fire.
- Smother small grease fires with baking soda or by covering the pan with a lid. Then turn off the burner and, using potholders, slide the pan off.
- Use care when cooking with oil, grease and butter, which are highly flammable. If you see bubbles, remove the pan from the burner.
- Keep the door closed on an oven fire and turn off the appliance
- Do the same with a microwave fire. Hit “stop” and unplug it. Don’t open the door until the fire is completely out. Have your microwave serviced before using it again, or simply replace it.
- Use a multipurpose ABC-rated fire extinguisher for small fires involving appliances, linens, or electrical outlets. Learn how the extinguisher works before you need it, and follow maintenance instructions in the owner’s manual. Check extinguishers monthly to see if they are charged.
- Proof of residence (deed or lease)
- Birth and marriage certificates
- Passports and naturalization papers
- Social Security cards
- Car titles
- Copies of driver’s licenses
- Bank and credit card information
- Wills, legal medical forms and copies of recent tax returns
- Stocks and bonds
- Home inventory (written list, videotape or photographs of everything in your home)
- Backup computer files
- Insurance policies
- Don’t give out personal information over the phone during an unsolicited call. Always ask the caller to send you information in writing.
- Shred all of your important documents. Identity thieves will go through your trash to retrieve copies of your checks, credit card and bank statements, mail, and other personal records.
- Never carry your Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport on you. These items should be stored in a safe place.
- Monitor your bank accounts and credit reports. Identity theft can go on for years before it is noticed, so carefully check your credit report at least once a year and your bank statements each month.
- Consider protecting yourself with fraud expense coverage, which can be added to your homeowners policy.
- Suspend newspaper and mail delivery until you return
- Lock and fasten all doors and windows. Use deadbolt locks on doors
- Trim shrubs so they don’t hide doors or windows
- Leave a few shades open to maintain a lived-in look
- Install outside lights or motion detector lights
- Leave a generic phone or email message that doesn’t suggest you are gone, and turn down the ringer on your phone
- Install and use security bars on sliding glass doors to keep thieves from lifting doors off their tracks.
- Set light timers so your house appears occupied.
- Add a security system. Warning decals may deter intruders.
- Organize your kitchen cabinets so that things are within easy reach.
- Use a sturdy step stool to reach tall cabinets.
- Clear clutter and electrical cords out of traffic paths.
- Illuminate porches and walkways
- Clear stairs, sidewalks, and your driveway of leaves, ice, and snow. Repair cracks, holes, and uneven surfaces.
- Use night-lights in hallways
- Use rubber mats or adhesive safety strips or decals in tubs and showers
- Install grab bars in bathrooms and showers
- Use extra caution around water
- Buy a CO alarm with the Underwriters Laboratories’ UL mark
- Install alarms within 15 feet of all sleeping areas and on every floor of your home.
- Test batteries monthly and replace them annually.
- Don’t leave a vehicle running in the garage, even when the garage door is open. Never use a generator or charcoal grill inside a home, garage, vehicle, or tent.
- Practice family fire drills to determine what to do in a natural disaster
- Become familiar with your community’s severe weather warning systems.
- Review insurance policies. Take photos or videotapes of your belongings. Store your home inventory and key documents in a safe deposit box.
- Assemble a Portable Emergency Kit. Include a whistle, a first aid kit, pet supplies, matches (in a waterproof container), a radio, chlorine bleach for disinfectant, cash, blankets, flashlights, and nonperishable food items and water to last 3-7 days.
- Plot your escape. Asa family, draw a floor plan of your house and note at least two ways out of each room. Pick a meeting spot outside, such as a mailbox or light post.
- Hold fire drills. Do them at least twice a year – pretend an exit is blocked. Once you’ve mastered daytime drills try one at night.
- Prepare for smoke. To breathe the cleanest air, crawl on hands and knees, keeping your head one to two feet off of the ground. For more advice, visit libertymutual.com/lm/firedrill
Staying Safe & Warm
December 1st, 2010
Cold temperatures outdoors can make for an often overlooked risk indoors: unsafe home heating systems. Furnaces, fireplaces and space heaters need regular attention and maintenance to work effectively and safely.
Carbon monoxide, fire, and smoke are three dangerous but preventable risks facing your family in the winter.
Carbon monoxide: This odorless, colorless and deadly gas is produced by most home heating systems, including oil, natural gas, coal or wood. When operating properly, these units produce a minimum of carbon monoxide, which is safely vented to the outside. If they aren’t regularly cleaned and maintained, they may produce flue blockages, leaks and poor ventilation in addition to an inflated amount of carbon monoxide. And this exposes your home to dangerous levels of the gas.
What to do:
Fire and smoke: Space heaters and fireplaces that are improperly operated or maintained pose significant fire and smoke risks.
What you can do:
©2008 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkley Street, Boston MA 02116. All rights reserved.
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Flood Insurance – What You Need to Know
October 4th, 2010
A flood doesn’t need to make national headlines to feel like a disaster.
Consider this scenario: You’re away on a much-needed vacation. While you’re traveling, a warm rain causes snow to melt, inundating your neighbor’s yard and yours with surface water, which seeps into your basement and furnace. You come home to a flooded basement and a cold house.
These mini floods happen more often than you think. In fact, a quarter of all flood claims come from homes outside of official flood zones. The good news? We can help you get the right protection.
Flood Insurance – What You Need to Know
Flooding is the nation’s #1 natural disaster. Floods are actually caused by torrential downpours, melting snow, overflowing levees, tropical storms, and even inadequate drainage systems. As infrastructure springs up where forests and other open spaces once were, the land is losing its natural ability to absorb water – and floods are occurring in more places and becoming more severe.
You can protect yourself with flood insurance if your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). More than 20,000 communities across the country participate in the NFIP.
Why do I need flood insurance?
In some cases, flood insurance is mandated if you live in a special flood hazard area (SFHA) and your mortgage is federally insured. However, approximately 25% of all flood claims occur outside SFHAs, and a standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover flood damage. You can access your risk at floodsmart.gov
Doesn’t federal disaster assistance pay for flood damage?
Federal disaster assistance is only available if the President of the U.S. declares a disaster, and approximately 90% of all disasters are not officially declared. Even when a disaster is declared, government assistance is provided as a loan that you must pay back with interest. Flood insurance, however, will cover damages even if a disaster is not declared.
How much coverage do I receive?
NFIP offers up to $250,000 in government-guaranteed coverage for your home and up to $100,000 for the contents.
Is it affordable?
The average annual premium for flood insurance is around $500 per year. For homeowners living in a low-or moderate-risk area, it costs even less – as little as $119 per year.
©2008 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkley Street, Boston MA 02116. All rights reserved.
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What To Do If You Have A Homeowner Loss
September 21st, 2010
A homeowner loss is something that you never think about until it’s time to place a claim. Here are a few simple steps you can take that will help you to get home back in order in a timely manner.
Immediately After a Homeowner Loss:
Protect Your Property
Take reasonable steps to protect your property from further damage. This might include boarding up windows and salvaging undamaged items. Your Claim Handler can advise you on specific actions you can take to secure your home and property.
Prepare a List of Damaged or Lost Items
If You Need To Relocated, Keep Your Receipts
©2008 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkley Street, Boston MA 02116. All rights reserved.
Fire Safety – What You Need To Know
August 30th, 2010
5 steps to take now to decrease your fire risk and increase your safety:
#1: Exit Strategy: Prepare, plan and practice
A home evacuation strategy will help keep your family safe in case of a fire. Study your house indoors and out to determine an escape plan in case of fire. It’s easy – and essential – to create a family home evacuation plan. Follow these important steps:
#2: Ask the Pros: Different cooking fires require different responses. Here’s a recipe for success:
#3: Be Fire Smart About Appliances
Ever left the house when the clothes dryer was running? Or stepped away from the stove while something was simmering? If so, you’re not alone. In Liberty Mutual’s fire safety survey, household appliances were among the concerns cited most often. Yet 41 percent of respondents said they’d left the dryer running when out of the house, and 26 percent said they’d left the stove unattended while cooking – two frequent causes of home fires.
#4: Safekeeping
Take a few moments to protect your important documents from fire. It’s one of those things you always mean to do, and now’s the time to do it. Gather your critical documents and put them in a fireproof safe or, even better, away from home in a secure safe deposit box.
Be sure to include:
#5: Where There’s Smoke
You have smoke alarms, but are they in working order? Inexpensive, easy to install and nondescript – smoke detectors are easy to take for granted. But when a fire starts in your home, the shrill signal could likely be your first – and only – warning and the difference between life and death. In 2005, almost three-fourths of home fire deaths occurred in homes where smoke alarms weren’t working or were absent, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
©2008 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkley Street, Boston MA 02116. All rights reserved.
Six Steps to Protecting Your Home Right Now
August 16th, 2010
Your home should be a safe-haven for you and the ones that your love. Here are six simple steps to protect your home right now:
#1 – Don’t Lose Your Identity
Identity theft has become the fastest-growing crime in America. Here are some simple ways you can protect yourself from become a potential victim:
#2 Protect Your Home From Theft During Vacations
According to the Burglary Prevention Council, home burglaries boom in the summer months, often when families are away. Here are a few tips to ensure that your summer vacation doesn’t become a working holiday for a burglar:
#3 Fall Proof Your Home
Falls are the leading cause of accidental death and injury at home, with the elderly and children at greatest risk. Here are a few simple steps you can take to prevent falls throughout your home:
#4 Detecting Trouble: Carbon Mononxide: The Silent Danger
You can’t taste it, smell it, or hear it, but carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most deadly risks for homeowners. Here are a few steps you can take to protect your family.
#5 Riding Out The Storms: Steps to Take in a Weather Emergency
No one can accurately predict the weather or the damage a disaster can cause to your home. You can, however, take a few precautions to be ready for them:
#6 Don’t Fuel the Fire at Home
The best offense for a fire strategy is a good defense. Here are a few simple steps you and your family can take in the event of a fire in your home.
©2008 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 175 Berkley Street, Boston MA 02116. All rights reserved.
