10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for the Winter
The winter season is full of snow-filled excursions with friends and family, and the joys of picturesque scenery from the comfort of your home. On the flip side, winter can be also be filled with problematic themes like icy driveways, snowy rooftops and more.
When it comes to winterizing your home, there are various ways you can prep your space to ensure that you don’t meet any frosty disasters head-on. Your homeowner’s insurance is there to protect you in most cases, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take precautions where necessary to keep things calm throughout the winter season.
Here are 10 ways to keep your home safe and sound during the winter months.
1. Keep an eye on things
Everyone loves to escape during the winter and taking off for a tropical vacation shouldn’t leave you stressed about your home. If you’re planning a winter getaway, be sure to ask a friend or family member to check in on your place, as some insurance policies exclude cases where the home was not monitored regularly.
2. Avoid unforeseen floods
There may be days of icy conditions, but those circumstances often melt away, and it’s possible you could be left with damage from a flood. Monitor icy conditions as they happen and work towards preventative measures if your home has a history of flooding.
3. Cover up your pipes
Bursting pipes are a significant cause of damage in the home and winter weather is often not kind to old pipes. Insulate your interior pipes to avoid potential damage and ensure outdoor pipes are dry and not susceptible to icy build up. If quality pipes are a big concern to you, consult with the experts to find out what the best pipes are for your home.
4. Don’t risk bathroom blunders
Insulating pipes is only one step. Adding a bit of anti-freeze in plumping pipes specifically can help present sewage backup from icy blockers. It’s important to note that sewage blockage is often additional coverage you will need to add to your home insurance.
5. Know when to keep the heat on
Being cozy is of the highest importance in the winter, but not at the expense of your insurance premiums. Avoid overuse of space heaters, oil-based heating, wood-burning fireplaces and wood-stoves in an effort to not drive up your insurance premiums.
6. Become one with the snow
Damages caused by heavy snow are typically covered by home insurance, but that’s no reason to avoid keeping things snow-free. Make an effort to clear heavy piles of snow off of your roof, basement windows, or other areas that could otherwise cause damage. Putting in the extra effort will help you avoid increased premiums if issues do arise.
7. Look after the trees
If a tree falls on your house during an ice storm, it will likely be covered by your insurance policy. However, if a dead tree has fallen on your home, the reasonability will sit with you and damage will not be covered. Homeowners are expected to remove dead trees on their property to avoid future hazards.
8. Don’t risk an avalanche
It sounds extreme, but if your property sits at the bottom of a hill or beside a mountain, you may be in a high-risk avalanche area. So while the scenery may be beautiful, damage to your home won’t be. Seek additional coverage if you own property in a high-risk area.
9. Remember furnace and stove safety
Make sure your furnace or wood stove is working without issues by checking in on them annually. This is a perfect time to have heat-sources inspected and replace filters where necessary.
10. Prepare for the after-winter pests
Damaged caused by insects and or small animals are generally not covered by your home insurance, so you must take preventative measures. These little critters love to welcome themselves back as temperatures begin to warm up, so patch up any holes that might be available to them, and avoid habits like leaving food out where it doesn’t belong.
Learn more about how the winter weather could impact your home insurance. has on Call us at 1-888-268-2408 and speak with our insurance experts at Insurance Jack today.