4 home insurance tips to get you safely through winter

Every year, the start of winter brings out advice on how to prepare your home for winter.

• Turn off your outside faucets
• Have your furnace professionally serviced
• Prevent ice dams by cleaning your gutters
• Inspect and clean your fireplace or chimney
• Pad exposed pipes that are in unheated areas
• Inspect your roof
• Inspect all doors and windows for leaks
• Keep your driveway and walkways clear of snow and ice

Here are an additional 4 home insurance tips to get you safely through winter

Make sure that exits are cleared of snow and ice and not just those areas where there is pedestrian traffic. This can include side doors, sliding doors, garage doors and balconies.

Water can build up in the channels of your sliding doors preventing them from opening. Garage doors can freeze to the garage floor.

If there is an emergency, it may be necessary for fire or ambulance crews to use an exit other than your front door.

Insurance tip: Check your exits regularly to make sure all doors including garage and sliding doors will open.

In an emergency, every second counts. A concealed or blocked fire hydrant can prevent emergency fire responders from acting quickly. Many municipalities will attach tall flags to fire hydrants so they can easily find the hydrant after large snowfalls. This works great for locating the hydrant but doesn’t give the fire department easy access to a hydrant if it is buried in snow. Be proactive and make sure that the hydrant closest to your house is clear of snow. There is no rule of thumb but you should clear an area of at least 1 metre around the hydrant.