April 2, 2017
f you’re like many American families, you may be taking a vacation to celebrate Easter break. Before you head out of town make sure you aren’t neglecting the security of your home.
Tips to keeping your home safe while you’re away:
In today’s world of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media, many of us love to share what our exciting travel plans are. We enjoy posting photos of the trip for our friends back home to see. What we don’t think about is who else is seeing, or reading this? The internet is not private, and even if you may want to post everything that is happening during your vacation, it is best to wait until you get home.
Before leaving inform a trusted neighbor of your vacation plans. Ask them to keep an eye on the property. If you don’t stop the mail, give them a key so they can collect it and bring it inside. An overflowing mailbox is a dead give away that nobody is home. Make sure they have your current contact information in case of an emergency.
Leave your house as you normally would if you were home. Many think it is a good idea to leave lights on, or close curtains. It is best to leave your house just the way you normally would. Try to keep expensive items out of plain sight if you can. Also, you can purchase a light switch timer that can program a schedule to turn lights on or off while you are away.
If you keep a spare key under your rug, or hidden behind that seemingly out of place rock, remove it before you leave. If a burglar finds out you are not home, that will be the first place they look for a key.
Before traveling, contact your My Member Insurance Agent at 989-791-5400 to review your policies. You may have coverages included in your policy that will be helpful while you are on the road.
