Protecting Your Home While on Vacation
Taking a family vacation should be exciting — not anxiety-inducing — when you think about leaving your home for a week or more. Fortunately, there are steps you can take ahead of time to help protect your home and personal belongings while you’re away. At Unruh Insurance, we know a lot about protecting your home while on vacation, and we can also set you up with the right homeowners insurance coverage in case something does happen. Put your fears to rest with our list of 9 vacation home safety tips that you can implement before your next vacation — and get ready to enjoy your time off with your family!
9 Vacation Home Safety Tips
Protecting your home while on vacation is absolutely essential to deter thieves and prevent catastrophic home damage. Nothing would be worse than to come home from a relaxing vacation to find your home in shambles or destroyed. That’s why we’ve put together this list of vacation home safety tips to help you prepare. And if you find yourself wanting to make sure your homeowners insurance policy has the kind of coverage you need, contact us today!
- Make it Look Like You’re at Home — Your home may be unattended for an extended period of time, but you don’t necessarily want it to appear that way to outsiders. When a home looks like no one has been there for a while, burglars may see that as the opportune time to strike. Fortunately, adjusting a few things in your home — like leaving your lights and televisions on timers — helps to give the appearance that the house isn’t empty, which will help to keep any unwanted visitors at bay.
- Check Your Garage — An easily accessible, and sometimes overlooked, area of your home is your garage. Before you go on vacation, you want to make sure this area is examined for any possible security issues. Make sure your garage is locked up before you leave and don’t keep any valuables in it.
- Don’t Let Your Mail Pile Up — If you let your mail, newspaper, and any packages pile up on your doorstep or in your mailbox, it will become apparent to any passersby that no one is home to collect it. We suggest stopping your mail and newspaper prior to leaving for vacation and making sure any packages don’t arrive while you’re gone.
- Turn off Your Water Valve — This next suggestion for protecting your home while on vacation is recommended especially during the winter months. Although a pipe can burst at any time during the year, winter is an especially hazardous time to leave your pipes unused and unattended. Avoid a flooding emergency by simply turning off your water valve — and leave for vacation knowing you did your part to prevent a frozen pipe disaster.
- Unplug Your Electronics and Appliances — This is another vacation home safety tip that focuses on protecting against the unexpected rather than a burglar. Unplugging all major appliances helps to prevent the one-in-a-million chance of a fire from happening. As an added bonus for being cautious, you’ll save electricity, too, as most electronics and appliances drain some energy when they’re plugged in, even if they’re not in use.
- Pay Special Attention to Your Sliding Glass Doors — One of the most common points of entry for an intruder is a sliding glass door. To keep your home protected while you’re on vacation, we recommend paying special attention to any sliding glass doors leading from the outside to the inside of your home. Ensure that the doors are tightly on their tracks and can’t be easily forced open. For an added layer of protection, place a wooden rod in the door track to block it from being opened from the outside.
- Safeguard Your Keys — If you’re having a friend or family member check on your house or plants while you’re away, they’ll need a key to get in. Safeguarding your home requires you to be safe about where you leave your keys. Under the mat, above the door frame, and beneath a rock are all places thieves check. Physically handing your spare key to the person and not simply hiding it in an obvious place is the safest way to go.
- Know What’s in Your Home — Before you leave for your trip to paradise, make sure you know what’s actually in your home. That way if a burglar does break in while you’re away, you know what went missing and how much it is worth. Get a home inventory form from your Unruh Insurance agent — and also be sure to take pictures and videos of your home before leaving, in case you should need to file a claim.
- Check out Your Homeowners Insurance Policy — Preparing for the worst is not only smart, but it’s easily done, too. Protecting your home while on vacation is done best with a comprehensive homeowners insurance policy. So before you leave for your family vacation, talk with your local Unruh Insurance agent about your policy — we can help you be sure you have the coverage you need in case of a home emergency while you’re away. Learn more about the 6 things your homeowners insurance plan should include.
Unruh for All Your Insurance Needs
At Unruh Insurance we provide all the different types of insurance you need to be totally protected in the 21st century. From the auto insurance plans that protect your car to the property insurance coverage, that handles everything from boats to ATVs — we write policies for all of it.
In addition, we also make insurance easy and simple. As a true local company, you can meet your agent in person or call them directly anytime during business hours. Here, you’re someone we know, not just another name in the system.
If you’re ready to examine your homeowners insurance plan or you want to take a look at your car insurance, contact us today for a FREE quote and consultation!
