Imagine waking up on a frigid winter morning, throwing on your bathrobe and stumbling down the stairs to make a pot of coffee — only to find your kitchen is filled with water. Each winter, about a quarter of a million families find themselves in scenarios like this, all because of water pipes that freeze and burst.
Not only can a pipe eruption ruin your day, but it can also cause thousands of dollars of damage to your home. Your furniture, carpet, photos, and floors could be water-logged and even ruined from a single bursting pipe. As a matter of fact, just a three millimeter crack in a pipe can dump up to 250 gallons of water in your house in a single day. Whether your home is outfitted with copper or plastic PVC pipes, no one is immune to pipe bursts — both of these pipes can rupture.
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Fortunately, you can take a few precautions to protect your pipes and avoid the hassle of a messy, expensive pipe burst. If you want to steer clear of the rising flood waters, follow these simple steps.
Bundle up those pipes: Before winter arrives, take time to insulate all the exposed pipes in your crawl spaces, garage, and attic. Because these pipes are open to the elements, they are more vulnerable to freezing. Don’t be shy with the insulation — the more you use, the less likely your pipes will freeze and burst. Use heat tape or thermostatically-controlled heat cables to wrap your high-risk pipes. Make sure the product is approved by an independent testing organization, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Use exterior tape for outside pipes and interior tape for indoor pipes, and follow all the installation instructions carefully.
Seal the cracks: Look for air leaks near your pipes. If arctic air seeps through even a tiny crack, your pipes can quickly freeze and burst. To keep the cold out and the heat in, seal up every leak with caulk or insulation.
Put the garden hose away: Before the temperature plummets below freezing, disconnect your garden hose and shut off the indoor valve.
Bump up the thermostat: Never set your thermostat below 65 degrees in the winter. The temperature inside the walls and attic, where your pipes are located, is much colder than the inside of your house. If you let the indoor temperature drop below 65 degrees, your exterior wall pipes are at high risk of freezing and bursting.
Let the water trickle: Turn on one faucet in your home and let warm water drip throughout the night. Even a tiny trickle of water can help prevent your pipes from freezing. If possible, use a faucet on an outside wall.
Protect your home when you’re gone: If you’re going out of town, ask a friend or neighbor to check your house each day. Tell them to look for any signs of a burst pipe and make sure it’s warm enough to prevent pipes from freezing. If you don’t have anyone who can check your home, consider shutting off and draining your water system before you leave. Keep in mind that if you have a fire protection sprinkler system in your house, it will be disabled when you shut off the water.
Know the signs of a pipe freeze: If you turn on your faucet and no water comes out, this could be a sign that your pipe is frozen. Leave the faucet on and call a plumber.
You might be able to thaw the frozen pipe yourself with a hair dryer. Start warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible, working toward the coldest part of the pipe. Never try to thaw pipe with a torch or open flame.
Deal with the pipe burst: If your pipes freeze and burst, turn off your water at the main shut-off valve and leave the water faucets on. Call a plumber right away.
You should also call us as soon as possible. Although your insurance adjuster doesn’t need to see the spill before you clean it up, you should at least inform us of your situation.
Move electronics, furniture, carpet, and other items away from the water. Start mopping up the water and try to make temporary repairs to protect your home from further damage. Be sure to save all of your receipts for any money you spend related to the pipe burst. The insurance company might be able to reimburse you for temporary repairs. Try to avoid making expensive permanent repairs until the insurance adjuster has a chance to assess the damage.
Obviously, no one wants to deal with the costly and messy aggravation of a pipe burst. To avoid this nightmare, take the proper measures to protect your pipes and your home. However, it’s also important to ensure your family is prepared to act swiftly and smartly if a pipe does rupture.
SAFEGUARD YOURSELF FROM HOME WORKER LAWSUITS
As the housekeeper is vacuuming your living room, she trips over one of your daughter’s toys and seriously injures her back. While your neighbor’s teenage son is mowing your front lawn, he steps in a large hole and sprains his ankle. Will your Homeowners insurance cover you if one of these workers decides to file a lawsuit? Many homeowners do not realize that they could be held financially liable if a maid, landscaper, nanny, or another house worker were to suffer from an injury on their property. Here are some things you should keep in mind before you hire a home worker.
Is that worker an employee or a contractor? When you hire someone to help out around the house, you should figure out whether he or she is an employee or a contractor. This is one of the factors that determines whether or not you are liable for a worker’s injury. So, how do you know if the worker is considered your employee or a contractor? It all comes down to how much control you have over the worker.
Let’s say you hire a nanny named Lisa to take care of your children and do some light cleaning in your home. Lisa follows your instructions about how to care for your kids and how to complete certain household tasks. You provide Lisa with the supplies and tools she needs to do her job. Because you have control over how Lisa works, she is most likely considered your employee.
On the other hand, let’s say you hire a professional landscaper named Bob to fertilize and mow your grass, trim the hedges, and plant flowers in your yard. Bob uses his own lawn mower and yard tools and he does yard work for other homeowners, as well. Bob also has a team of workers who help him with his business, and he pays these workers. In this case, Bob probably would be considered an independent contractor.
Of course, these are two fairly simple examples. If you are uncertain about whether a worker in your home is considered a contractor or an employee, consult a lawyer or tax professional.
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Understanding Workers Comp insurance. Some states require homeowners who have house worker “employees” to carry Workers Compensation insurance coverage for them. However, even if your state does not require this, you should still consider purchasing this insurance for your employees. Why? Because if one of your employees is injured on your property, you might have to pay for their medical bills and other expenses out of your own pocket. However, with Workers Compensation coverage, the insurance company will cover the costs.
Alternatively, if you hire a house contractor, such as a landscaper, carpenter or plumber, they should be covered by their own Workers Compensation insurance. If a contractor is injured while doing work on your property, he or she will be covered under that policy. If the contractor doesn’t have enough coverage, you might be held financially liable. However, depending on the circumstances, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the contractor, as they are required by law to have sufficient Workers Compensation coverage.
If you are looking to hire a house contractor, it’s important to ensure they are covered for worker injuries, property damage, and uninstalled materials. Don’t just take their word for it. Ask for written proof that they have a contractor’s license, Workers Compensation insurance for themselves and any subcontractors, and General Liability coverage.
Know what your Homeowners insurance covers. When it comes to coverage for home workers, every Homeowners insurance policy is different. Depending on your home state, your policy might include a provision that provides limited coverage for minor workers performing lawn mowing or other tasks that require the use of power tools on your property. On the other hand, your policy might specifically exclude domestic workers such as nannies or maids. Your policy might cover the injuries of household employees, but only after a lawsuit is filed against you. Because Homeowners policies vary widely, it’s important to read through your contract and talk to one of our insurance agents before you hire a home worker.
Consider an Umbrella policy. If you discover that your Homeowners policy offers limited or no liability coverage for workers, you might consider purchasing additional Liability insurance. Although you might have some personal liability coverage through your Homeowners policy, it’s probably not nearly enough to cover a major lawsuit from a home worker. If someone were to file a lawsuit against you, you could end up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more-even if you win.
You can further protect yourself with what’s known as an Umbrella policy. This type of policy offers a higher level of liability coverage and ensures that you and your family will be protected if someone sues you for damages. Umbrella policies are typically sold in million dollar increments, and you can obtain a policy once your Home and Auto insurance policies meet a minimum “attachment point” -- typically a liability limit of $250,000 or $500,000.
Check with the Better Business Bureau. Before you hire a home worker, you should contact the Better Business Bureau for more information. They can tell you if any consumers have filed complaints against the worker. Visit the bureau’s Web site at www.bbb.org.
HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE: HOW MUCH IS JUST ENOUGH?
Because your home is probably the biggest investment you’ll ever make, you’ll want to take measures to safeguard that valuable investment. The best way to protect your home investment is through Homeowners insurance. However, you shouldn’t settle for just any policy. The type and amount of insurance you need depends on your specific home, what’s in it, and your personal requirements. But how much insurance is enough? Here are a few ways to determine how much insurance coverage you need.
Market value might not be enough. Although you might be tempted to purchase just enough Homeowners insurance to cover the market or resale value of your home, this might not be enough. Although the market value might be enough coverage for some homeowners, that’s typically not the case.
Your home’s market value is not the same as what’s known as its “replacement cost.” The replacement cost of your home is the amount of money you would need to rebuild your home to its previous condition if a loss were to occur. This amount is different from your home’s market value, purchase price, or the outstanding amount of your mortgage loan.
Especially right now, when property values are falling throughout much of the nation, the market value of your home is probably much lower than its replacement value. Therefore, you should not use market value to determine how much insurance coverage you need.
Calculate the replacement cost. So, how do you figure out the replacement cost of your home? Your Homeowners insurance company can calculate how much it would cost to rebuild your home based on:
Square footage of your home
Type and quality of your home’s construction
Any updates, special features, or add-ons to your home
Quality and cost of materials used in your home
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Read the fine print. Before you purchase a policy, read all the fine print so you know exactly what the policy covers. Homeowners insurance generally covers damages to your home and “other structures” on your property, such as a shed, detached garage, gazebo, or pool. In most policies, the amount of insurance coverage you receive for other structures is 10% of the amount of coverage you receive on your home. For example, if your insurance policy covers $100,000 on your home, the coverage you would receive for your other structures would be $10,000 combined. If you believe that the structures on your property are worth more than 10% of your home coverage, you might want to request additional coverage.
Take a look at your personal liability coverage. Most Homeowners policies also include personal liability and medical expense coverage. Generally, your Homeowners insurance company will pay up to $100,000 on a legitimate civil claim against you for an injury that occurred on your property. However, this still might not be enough to cover a major lawsuit. You might consider purchasing a separate Personal Umbrella Liability policy, which can offer additional protection. This type of policy offers a higher level of liability coverage and ensures that you and your family’s assets will be protected if someone sues you for damages. Umbrella policies typically pay up to a predetermined limit, which is usually $1 million, for liability claims made against you and your family.
Protect your valuables. If you have particularly valuable jewelry, artwork, or collectibles in your home, you might want to opt for even more Homeowners insurance coverage for additional protection. You might assume your valuables are fully covered by your Homeowners insurance, but that’s not always the case. It all comes down to what’s called the “sublimit” -- this is the limit on the amount the insurance company will pay for specific types of personal property. Although your policy’s total personal property limit might be $75,000, the sublimit for jewelry might be as low as $1,500. Read through your contract and find your policy’s sublimit for artwork, jewelry, and collectibles. If your valuables are worth more than the sublimit, you might want to purchase additional insurance to cover them. You can purchase what’s called a “floater” and have this worked into your Homeowners policy. Insurance floaters typically cover one specific item, so if you have multiple valuables, you might need to purchase floaters for each item you want to insure.
Talk to a professional. Discuss your unique Homeowners insurance needs with one of our insurance agents. We can help you determine what kind of policy will best fit your needs and whether or not you might require additional coverage.
