Our Claim Adjusters Chicago, IL Advice On How To Keep Your House Secure While You’re Gone

The weather is beginning to heat up, indicating that vacation season is here! If you’re returning north for the summer to avoid the heat or visiting relatives for an extended weekend, you must protect your house while you are gone. As one of the leading public adjusters Chicago, our staff at Insurance Claim Adjusters has seen the destruction that may occur when a house is left uninhabited. Here are some tips for keeping your house secure while you’re gone this summer:

Unplug any non-essential gadgets to help avoid electrical fires. This involves toasters, computers, clocks, lights, televisions, and so forth. Unplugging also saves you money on your power bill while you’re away.

A stack of packages at your door tells a vandal you’re not home. Cancel your newspapers and forward or hold your mail. Stop buying shipping a few weeks before your trip to prevent deliveries.

Turn off the water main before departing. Water damage is prevalent and expensive. If pipe bursts or leaks while you are gone, you will not only have to repair the water damage, but you will also have to remediate the mold damage, which may need insurance adjusters Chicago as many insurance companies will not cover it.

Prepare your home for a storm if you will be away for a lengthy amount of time. Close your hurricane shutters (if you have them), bring in any outside furniture or things that may become missiles, and tie down any heavy objects that you can’t move.

Also, if you’ll be away for a lengthy amount of time, give a friend or family member a key to your house and ask them to check on it on a regular basis to ensure there are no signs of a break-in, water damage, or any other severe structural damage that requires quick repair.