Summer is a great time for travel. Cottage weekends. European adventures. Long road trips. Before you pack the car or head to the airport, here are some important and easy tips to follow to keep your dwelling safe while you’re not around:

1. Ask someone to keep an eye on things.
2. Get a home monitoring alarm system.
3. Install timers on your electronics.
4. Have someone mow the lawn (or shovel the driveway in winter).
5. Hold mail and newspaper delivery.
6. Leave the blinds open (if you normally do).
7. Keep a low profile on social media.
8. Lock everything.
9. Don’t leave spare keys out.
10. Lock the garage door and disconnect the automatic opener.
11. Don’t lead burglars to your home with your GPS.
12. Lock up valuables in the safe.
13. Have someone take the trash out.
14. Hire a house sitter.

Traveling in the winter?

Loss or damage by water is not covered under any circumstances if caused by freezing during the usual heating season within a heated portion of the dwelling or private structures if you have been away from your premises for more than 4 consecutive days, but you will still be insured if you have taken any of the following precautions:

a) Arranged for a competent person to enter your dwelling and/or private structure each day you were a way to ensure the heating was being maintained; or

b) Shut off the water supply to your dwelling and/or private structure and had drained all of the pipes and domestic water containers; or

c) Connected your heating system to an alarm which is monitored 24 hours a day by a central monitoring service.

There is no coverage for freezing within an unheated portion of your dwelling and/or private structure.