Winterizing Your Home

11 Dec Winterizing Your Home

As the winter months approach us, it’s important to take simple, preventative steps to protect your home or business from harsh winter weather. Although Louisiana doesn’t typically have snow or ice, the cold, wet weather can still damage your home. Additionally, it is a hard time to make repairs. Homeowner’s and business owner’s insurance policies typically provide coverage against sudden losses. Your policy might not cover the damage that comes as a result of your failure to winterize your home.

Every year, 1 in 50 insured homes report a property damage claim related to water damage and freezing. About 1 in 35 insured homes have property damage claims related to wind and hail each year. Rain gutters can easily become clogged with leaves and debris from the Fall season, and when heavy rain and ice builds up on top, it is bad news. This damage is a costly repair that could be avoided with simple maintenance.

Standard homeowners and business insurance policies will cover weather-related damage if it is a result of peril. An example of that is if a tree falls through your roof and allows water to leak inside. Neglected roof leaks and gutters that have never been cleaned are typically not covered. Here are some tips to protect your home or business from mother nature during this time of year:

• Maintain Gutters
  • Remove leaves and other debris from gutters. There are gutter guards that serve as a screen to prevent debris from entering the gutter and blocking drains.
• Trim Trees
  • Always remove dead or low hanging branches in the case of wind or ice. Both can cause trees to break and fall on your home or power lines.
• Check Insulation
  • Add extra insulation to attics, basements and crawl spaces. If too much heat escapes from those spaces, it can cause snow or ice to melt on your roof.
• Maintain Pipes  
  • Wrap pipes with pipe insulation or heating tape and insulate unfurnished rooms such as garages that have exposed pipes.
• Keep Your House Warm
  • During freezing weather, the temperature in your home should be at least 5 degrees. A room temperature below that will not keep your pipes from freezing.
• Monitor your plumbing
  • Learn how to shut off the water and know where your home’s pipes are located. If pipes freeze, you may be able to prevent the pipes from bursting by taking immediate action.

AWS knows how important your home is to you and we want to make sure that you are informed of all the steps you can take to prevent damages. If you would like to speak to an experienced insurance agent, we will happily help you prepare. We hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday season!