{"id":2488,"date":"2021-07-23T16:11:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T16:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/?p=2488"},"modified":"2023-11-07T16:02:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T16:02:17","slug":"how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every year, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iii.org\/press-release\/us-homeowners-give-record-high-satisfaction-scores-to-their-insurers-031317\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 in 15 homeowners will file a home insurance claim<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. No matter where you live, it\u2019s likely that at some point in your homeownership, one of these instances will happen to you. Some claims are inevitable, but there are a number of things you can do to help reduce your risk of having to file one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are the most common insurance claims and how you can prevent them:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Wind and Hail\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In New England, we\u2019re prone to strong storms year-round. Wind can arise, seemingly out of nowhere, and uproot trees, cause downed branches, and even sweep the shingles right off your roof. Similarly, even a light hailstorm can cause property damage to your roof and windows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a storm is coming, store loose furniture in a safe place and make sure you have enough emergency supplies for at least 72 hours. If hurricane-like wind and rain are expected, you may want to consider boarding up your windows and doors. You can learn more about preparing for a hurricane <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/10\/how-to-prepare-for-a-hurricane\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Above all, be sure to monitor the weather. Being prepared is the best defense against significant damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Fire\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a number of reasons a fire can start inside and outside your home. From unattended candles and fireplaces to kitchen accidents, home decor, and backyard grills, hazards are around every corner. Even a natural disaster like lightning can send a house up in flames in mere seconds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To protect your home and more importantly, your family:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always have working smoke alarms on every floor of your home.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make an emergency evacuation plan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Never leave open flames unattended.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep all gas tanks and grills a minimum of 10 feet from your home or other structures on your property.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t use a gas stove or fireplace to heat your home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure electrical wires are out of reach of children and pets.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you think you smell gas in your home, immediately go outside and away from your home and call the gas company.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Water Damage\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps one of the most frustrating problems as a homeowner is water damage. It can happen often, especially if you\u2019re in a flood zone or an area prone to significant rainfall, and it may not be covered under your current policy. From freezing pipes in the fall and winter to storms in the spring and summer, you can experience water damage at any time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To reduce your risk, make sure doors and windows are properly sealed and gutters are cleaned. Once a year, you may always want to have your roof inspected for loose shingles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you do experience significant water damage, we offer a sump pump coverage amendment. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/customer-service.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact us to learn more about your options<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Liability\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance protects your physical home and belongings, but did you know it also protects you from a lawsuit? For example, a guest visits your home and they slip and fall on a wet staircase, then sue you for damages. Having insurance will save thousands in court and legal fees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help prevent accidents, make sure safety is always a priority before you have guests at your home. If you have a pool or trampoline, ensure that kids are never unattended. Also, keep walkways and staircases clear of debris. You can learn more about hosting safety tips on our blog <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/06\/tips-and-insights-for-holiday-hosting\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Theft and Loss<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Damage and loss unfortunately happen, but there are a number of ways you can reduce your risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, even having a security sign in your yard can deter potential intruders. Keep walkways and doorways well lit at night so there are few hiding places and make sure to lock all doors and windows. Having an alarm system can always help protect your home and valuables when you\u2019re in the house or away. To learn more about how to protect your home while you\u2019re away on vacation, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/31\/tips-to-protect-your-home-while-on-vacation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">read our blog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope these tips help you protect your family and your home. If you have more questions, we work with over 500 independent agents who are ready to help. Visit our website to find a local agent near you: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/quincymutual.com\/find-agent.htm?\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bit.ly\/QuincyFindAgent<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, 1 in 15 homeowners will file a home insurance claim. No matter where you live, it\u2019s likely that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every year, 1 in 15 homeowners will file a home insurance claim. No matter where you live, it\u2019s likely that [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Quincy Mutual Group\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-23T16:11:11+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-07T16:02:17+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shutterstock_1284992752.jpeg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"quincymutualadmin\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"quincymutualadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/\",\"name\":\"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-23T16:11:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-07T16:02:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b11155a1d05981ef18711432cc8d0d9e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Quincy Mutual Group\",\"description\":\"SERVING YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS SINCE 1851.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b11155a1d05981ef18711432cc8d0d9e\",\"name\":\"quincymutualadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/944a4b8c212290cf0512fbb41fc55f16?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/944a4b8c212290cf0512fbb41fc55f16?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"quincymutualadmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/author\/quincymutualadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group","og_description":"Every year, 1 in 15 homeowners will file a home insurance claim. No matter where you live, it\u2019s likely that [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/","og_site_name":"Quincy Mutual Group","article_published_time":"2021-07-23T16:11:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-07T16:02:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/shutterstock_1284992752.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"quincymutualadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"quincymutualadmin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/","url":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/","name":"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims - Quincy Mutual Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-07-23T16:11:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-07T16:02:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b11155a1d05981ef18711432cc8d0d9e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-these-5-common-home-insurance-claims\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How To Avoid These 5 Common Home Insurance Claims"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/","name":"Quincy Mutual Group","description":"SERVING YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS SINCE 1851.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b11155a1d05981ef18711432cc8d0d9e","name":"quincymutualadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/944a4b8c212290cf0512fbb41fc55f16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/944a4b8c212290cf0512fbb41fc55f16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"quincymutualadmin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/author\/quincymutualadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2488"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2491,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488\/revisions\/2491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quincymutual.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}