Travelers Home Insurance: Guide To Protecting Your Home When You’re Not There

If you’re like most of us, your home is the biggest and most expensive thing that you own. It’s the place that you live with your partner. The place where you raise your children. It’s the place that holds all of your memories and the things that are important to you.

Have Home Insurance

The first thing homeowners need to do is make sure that you have the right homeowner policy. Now, there are different types of home insurance such as property and casualty—just like there are different types of car insurance or anything else.

You want a policy that you and your family can afford and that will help you get back on your feet if anything happens. You also want something that is going to cover just about anything that does happen in your area, which means not just theft but fire, flood, and storms.

If any of these things affect your home you want to know that your home insurance is going to take care of it. Some areas have different policies for some of these things. For example, if you live in a tornado prone area or a flood prone area you may need to pay extra to cover these types of occurrences.

If you don’t, and something happens, your insurance may not pay anything or may not pay enough to get you and your family back on your feet again. Look at the homeowner policy that you choose and think about things that could happen in your area, even if those things aren’t common occurrences.

Get A Security System

Next, make sure you have a security system in your home. Not that long ago the only way to get a security system was to order one and have a company come out and wire your home for you. It would take a lot of time and cost you a whole lot of money every month, definitely not an enjoyable thing for anyone.

But now there are a whole lot more options. You can buy security systems in just about any store and you can even install them yourself. Some don’t even require a monthly fee because they simply access your phone line to call 911 or they use the built-in recording.

A security system could be extensive or it could be simple. It’s up to you the type that you want, but having one means that your home is more secure and safe from a burglar. Security systems also may have a built-in system to alert 911 in case of a fire or other problem detected.

These can be even more advantageous for homeowners because they help you and your family no matter what might be happening in your home. You don’t have to worry about anything that might happen.

Lock Doors And Windows

Whenever you leave your house you should make it your job to lock every door and window in the place. A burglar could break into your home at any time and you definitely don’t want that to happen, which is why you want to make things as difficult for them as possible.

Locking every door and window means that they have to actually break their way in and that gives your security system or your neighbors a better chance of alerting the police before you suffer too much damage. You want to keep all of your belongings safe and secure, after all.

Put Lights On Timers

If you’re gone frequently, even just in the evenings, it’s a good idea to put your lights on timers. These little boxes are available for a very little cost and all you have to do is hook a lamp into them and set the time that you want them to turn on and off.

That way, even if you’re not home, the lights in your house will make it look like someone is at home. This can help you and your family to keep burglars at bay because they don’t want to be in your home if someone else is there. They want to get in and out unseen.

Have Someone Check In

If you’re going to be gone for an extended period of time it’s important not to leave your house entirely unattended. Even with a security system and lights on timers and all the doors and windows locked, if no one is seen at the house in several days it’s possible a potential burglar would notice.

By having someone come over to your house every day or every couple days it looks like someone is keeping an eye on things and it makes sure that someone notices right away if there’s a problem or anything seems wrong.

Hold Mail Or Newspaper

Another important thing when you’re going away for an extended period of time is to make sure you have your mail or newspaper held if you don’t have someone going over every day to pick it up.

A potential burglar sees that you have a stack of mail in the mailbox or a pile of newspapers in the driveway and that tells them that you’re not home. What that means is, they find out that it’s a perfect time to break in and take whatever they want because you aren’t likely to find out until they’re long gone.

Keep Your Location Private

You don’t want to tell anyone that you’re going away for any length of time if you can avoid it. Telling people that you trust with your close friends and family may be fine, but posting it on social media is definitely something to avoid.

No matter what your privacy settings are, you never know who could see what you’re posting and use it for their own purposes. You want to keep your belongings and your family safe and that means making sure that the fewest possible people know that you’re not going to be around.

Check The House

Look around your house before you go anywhere and take some precautions for things like fires and cold weather. You want to unplug things that are taking up extra electricity like the computer, TV and more. These are things that could surge and if you’re not home it could mean danger for your house.

Looking at pipes and making sure your heater is set to the right temperatures to cut down on your usage but still keep your pipes from freezing is important as well. Finally, make sure that you put any valuables away in a secure place, where they can’t easily be seen by anyone outside. This makes you less of a target.