Prepare Your Home To Protect Your Investment

Monday, March 1, 2004

Prepare Your HomeTo Protect Your Investment (NAPSA)—A homeis a significant investment and comes with even greater responsibilities. Insurance industry experts Dan Kovac and Arne Chatterton advise homeowners to prepare their homesfor rough weather. “Weather is one of the more unpredictable challenges homeowners face,” said Kovac. “They can avoid the financial burdens caused by cold weatherif they take time to winterproof their homes.” According to the Insurance Information Institute, winter results in billions of dollars in damages to homes each year from burst pipes, chimney fires, water damage and other hazards. General Casualty Insurance Companies and Unigard Insurance Group offer tips to reduce these dangers—and resulting insurance costs: 1. Inspect and professionally clean fireplace chimney and furnace annually. Check inside of chimney for creosote buildup, a shiny black coating that can lead to chimneyfires. 2. Replace batteries and smoke alarms. House fires are more commonin the winter. damage. Gutter guards help prevent clogs. 5. Keep the home adequately insulated and make sure heating systems are working properly. Setting the thermostat at 65 degrees or higher helps prevent pipes from freezing and bursting. 6. Trim trees and remove dead branches. Ice, snow and wind can cause weak trees or branches to break and damage your homeor car or injure someone on your property. “Compile a checklist of annual, seasonal and monthly activities to 3. Prevent damage to pipes and future costly repairs. Wrap pipes with heating tape and check for leaks. Insulate unfinished rooms containing exposed pipes. Remove hoses from exterior protect your investment in your exposed spigots. 4, Clean and repair gutters. Remove debris and check gutter joints for cracks. Keeping gutters clean allows melting snow andice Wash.) insurance companies are part of Winterthur U.S. Holdings, faucets, turn off water and cover home’s value and family’s safety,” said Chatterton. A home maintenance checklist is available at unigard.com/helpInfo. General Casualty (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Unigard (Bellevue, Inc., and insure homes, autos and businesses through independent agents in 31 states.

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