Home Insurance: Protecting Your Home While You’re Away

Before going on holiday, people normally do the usual checks – passports, luggage, travel insurance, and check they have locked all the doors and windows, but there are a few extra steps you can take to help keep your home safe while you’re away.

1. Check Your Home & Travel Insurance

Take a moment to double check your contents insurance. Ensure that it is up to date and the full value of your contents are covered, particularly high value items. If you are taking these on holiday, check that your personal belongings are covered away from home. Alternatively, ensure they are included in your travel insurance. Check your policy for exclusions such as ‘unoccupied properties’. Many policies become invalid if you are away for 30 / 60 days. If this is the case, you may want to take out a continuation or vacant property policy with your insurer

2. Secure Your Property

In addition to stealing your most precious items, intruders can also cause damage by vandalising or starting fires in properties, so it’s important to triple check your home is secure. In addition to locking up properly, don’t leave keys in the locks of doors or windows, and don’t leave spare keys hidden outside under door mats, plant pots or garden ornaments. If you are considering getting timers for the lights, set different rooms to different schedules, so that they come on in a realistic pattern. Leave curtains and blinds open, but make sure expensive items are out of sight. Cancel any milk or newspaper deliveries, and if you have a trusted neighbour, friend or family member, ask them to come and remove any mail from your door mat.

3. Prevent Escape of Water

Our property restoration and re-instatement services are often appointed following internal leaks or escape of water. Aside from the obvious things like burst pipes in the winter, leaks can also be caused by corroded pipes and water escaping from fixed appliances. The risk of this can be reduced, by having major appliances serviced regularly, checking appliances for visible leaks before you leave and turning off your water supply in the summer months. Please note: It is not recommended to turn your water supply off during cold weather as this may lead to frozen or burst pipes. Asking a family member to check on your property can also reduce damage if an internal leak does occur, as immediate intervention is the key to mitigating secondary damage.

4. Secure Your Exterior

Make time to walk around the outside of your home to look for possible points of entry or weak points. Consider installing an external light or home security camera as deterrents. Don’t forget to check the contents of your shed and garage which often contain high value items, or items which can be used to break into your home such as ladders, bricks or garden tools.

5. Enjoy a Digital Detox

While it may seem obvious not to make it common knowledge that you’ll be on holiday, many people overlook social media networks by announcing their upcoming trip on Facebook or ‘checking in’ to the airport departure lounge. Posting photos while you are on holiday will also alert people to an empty house.

6. A Point of Contact

If you are going away on holiday for a long period of time, don’t forget to notify your insurance company and nominate a point of contact to liaise with them on your behalf in the case of an incident.

For assistance or more information about our water, fire or vandalism restoration or property re-instatement services, please email info@completepropertyrevival.co.uk or call 0333 344 1150.