Home or away: How to protect your home over summer
Summertime means long, bright days and breezy weekends. But the weather can have its ups and downs. The warmer months can bring with them emergency events like bushfires and flooding, which we’ve already seen this year. It’s also a busy time for break-ins and burglaries when people are away for the holidays.
BOQ Home and Contents Insurance uses smart solutions that help protect your home in case something unfortunate happens. But there’s also steps you can take that can help prevent potential damage. So, whether you’re home or away this summer, here are some top tips to protect your home.
Be ready for storms
Summer storms are never far away, don’t let them catch you by surprise. Create a ‘storm plan’ for your home and family so you’re not caught out if the weather looks threatening. Keep essentials like torches, a handheld radio and spare batteries close at hand and have a supply of non-perishable food and fresh water available in case you lose services like power and water.
Make sure everyone in your house knows what they need to do when a storm hits (e.g. close windows) and choose the safest room in your house if you need to seek shelter.
Check on those gutters and drains
Don’t wait until it’s too late to discover your gutters and drains are blocked or cracked. Give your gutters and drains a check over sooner rather than later, in case they need repair or replacing. Then you can rest easy knowing that if heavy rain does hit, the water will go where it’s meant to – and not where it’s not.
Stay watertight
While you’re checking on those gutters and drains, give the whole house a once over too. Check your home for water leak areas that may occur with heavy rainfall, like through the roof, around door and window frames or under eaves. Inside, you can even install our Smart Home sensors that can alert you to water leaks.
Stay fire safe
Fire alarms can be literal life savers when it comes to detecting a fire in your home as soon as possible, so it’s critical that they’re kept in good working order. Be sure to check and update all fire alarms in your home. And for that extra reassurance, use them alongside a Smart home sensor. Our home sensors can pick up temperature changes as well as sounding smoke alarms and send a notification straight to your smart phone.
Make it look like someone’s home
It’s never a good idea to advertise an empty house, so keep the house-pride going, even if you’re going away. Ask a trusted person to collect your mail and to take your bins in and out while you’re away.
Keep your house secure
Don’t make it easy for break-ins to occur – make sure your house is as secure as it can be. Look for broken locks or old security screens and make any updates you may need so that everything is ship shape.
If you have an alarm system, remember to test it to make sure it’s in working order. And for that extra peace of mind, you can install a Smart home sensor at points of entry to detect open windows and doors.
Make sure you’re covered
BOQ Insurance offers you smart cover protection. Customers that take out an eligible Home and Contents Insurance policy can choose to receive complimentary smart sensors that will help prevent avoidable accidents, even when you’re not home.
Is your home covered for summer?
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Important information
Bank of Queensland Limited ABN 32 009 656 740 AFSL 244616 arranges this insurance as agent for Honey Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 52 643 672 628, AFSL 528 244. Insurance issued by RACQ Insurance Limited ABN 50 009 704 152, AFSL 233 082 and distributed by Honey Insurance Pty Ltd. Conditions, limits and exclusions apply. This is general advice only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be right for you. Always read the PDS, any applicable SPDS and TMD available at honeyinsurance.com before making any decision. If you purchase a general insurance product, BOQ is paid a commission which is a percentage of your premium.
