Monday, August 6, 2012

Your Disaster Resistant Home

Having fantastic home insurance in Chandler, AZ is a great step.  But one of the best ways we can financially protect ourselves is to prepare ourselves assuming the worst.  A little thinking and a few steps now can help prevent disaster to your greatest investment, your home.  Here are three ways you can prepare your home in the case of a disaster (both natural and otherwise).

A large concern in Arizona, with the high temperatures and the low humidity and dryness in the air is fires.  Wildfires occur often and home fires can quickly get out of control.  Simple approaches, like never leaving candles unattended and moving flammable items away from heat sources, like the stove, are obvious choices.  Not so obvious is to make sure you service and clean furnaces, stoves, and fireplaces regularly to clean out debris and prevent smaller house fires.

A good security system will not only protect you from burglary and break ins, but will also alert the police in the case of fire.  In addition, adding a good sprinkler system will not only reduce your home insurance costs, but also protect your home in case a fire breaks out.

Repair and replace outdated and unsafe electrical wires.  Modernizing your electrical systems is a great way to prevent fires from occurring behind the walls and out of sight.
Add storm shutters to your home, and reinforce your roofing system.  Storm shutters will protect your home in the case of serious rain, flying debris in the case of sandstorms and wind and water in the case of a monsoon.  While a strong roofing system protects your home not just from rain, but also hail and lightning strikes. 

Other roof enhancements include air terminals (also known as lightning rods) and down conductors.  Basically this system is designed to capture the lightning if it were to hit your roof, and guide it safely down a path of your home until it hits the ground, protecting your home from damage.  This will prevent exterior damage to the roof and siding, as well as interior damage to the electrical system.
Think like a burglar.  While burglary isn't a natural disaster, it is a scary experience.  To protect your home from break ins, you have to take the time to think like a criminal.  As mentioned above- a security system, equipped with the option to directly call law enforcement in the case of a break in, is a great defense.  However, there are several things you can do every day to make your home uninviting to a criminally minded person. 

First and foremost- use your locks.  Leaving windows unlocked, even if in your backyard, just in case you lock your key inside, is a sure fire way to allow a criminal to waltz right in.  Secondly, trim your hedges and bushes so criminals can't hide out.  And third, keep valuables out of sight.  If you have a garage, keep your car in your garage, and keep your garage door closed. 
Although these things take prior thought and in some cases, an investment of upfront cash- they will go a long way in protecting your home and making you feel safe and secure.

Make sure to talk to your Arizona Insurance Agent about what home insurance options you need.

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