The holiday season is a time of joy and gathering together with family. Unfortunately, between cooking feasts, having indoor trees, and decorating with lights connected to electrical wires, the holiday season can also lead to an increased risk of home fires. Here are some important fire safety preparations you can make now, to ensure your home is protected from fires, holiday-related or otherwise.
Nobody knows your home better than you do. You know how that scuff on the wall by the basement door got there. You know about that one drain that always seems to clog in a heavy Chicago storm. You know the trick to making sure the window in the kitchen closes and locks all the way. You know where someone - not naming any names - always seems to leave their laptop lying around. You know which bedroom is left empty for guests, and which ones aren’t. You probably even know the best way to break in to your house.
If there’s one thing we know about insurance companies, it’s that they do their homework. They conduct studies, read reports, crunch numbers and make decisions based on data analysis and statistics. This means that when the FBI puts out crime stats saying that roughly every 15 seconds a home in America is burglarized, insurance companies are paying attention. Insurance companies also know that the average loss per burglary claim is around $4,000. Put those two facts together, and it’s no surprise that home insurance companies are willing to offer serious premium discounts to families with a monitored home security system...
According to the FBI’s crime reporting data, nearly two-thirds of all burglaries in the United States involve some sort of “forcible entry.” That means picked locks, kicked-in doors, smashed windows, etc. The other third is from “unlawful entry,” which covers things like doors and windows that have been left open or unlocked...
Knowledge is power, as the old saying goes. And with modern technology, it has never been more true. Think about the phone in your pocket, and how much power has gone into that tiny computer. How much power it gives you over things in your life, from being more efficient at your job to being in better touch with the people you care about. Why do you think they call them “smart” phones?
