Losses that occur on property you own can affect your livelihood and that of your tenants. They also can affect your insurance rates and eligibility. Without the proper controls in place, you could be saddled with the responsibility of owing for injury or damages that you did not cause.
RECOGNIZE THE RISKS
When you understand the risks you face as a property owner and lessor, you can better manage them. Consider these scenarios:
Natural perils – A tornado sweeps through town, damaging your building and your tenants’ contents.
Fire – A grease fire starts in a restaurant at one end of your building. Before it is extinguished, fire damages multiple units and tenant contents.
Third-party injury or illness – A patron slips and falls in the parking lot, spraining her ankle.
Change in occupancy – A restaurant replaces a retail store in one of your units. As a property owner, you want to determine if the current sprinkler system is able to handle the demands of a restaurant.
Change in tenant operations – A retail craft store expands its operations to include pottery making. With this expansion, your tenant adds kilns to heat-treat ceramic projects.
Vacancy – Your unoccupied building is vandalized, resulting in damaged property.
Home heating fires are the second leading cause of home fire deaths after cooking fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Fireplaces, chimneys and flues account for a significant number of home heating fires.
Homeowners with a wood-burning fireplace or solid fuel stove or insert can protect your property and your family by having a qualified professional inspect and clean your chimney at least annually to prevent a buildup of creosote.
Creosote is a tarry residue or solid organic compound caused by incomplete combustion of wood that can build up in chimneys and ignite a chimney fire. A heavily used fireplace or stove may require periodic cleaning throughout the heating season. NFPA statistics show that failure to clean creosote from chimneys was the leading factor in 28 percent of the home heating equipment fires between 2007 and 2011.
The U.S. Fire Administration offers a series of videos showing how to safely build and tend a fire. Additional tips for safe fireplace and wood stove use:
-Equip your fireplace with a sturdy glass or metal screen to stop sparks from flying into the room.
 
Here is an article from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on Thanksgiving Safety Tips.  From our family here at Fey Insurance Services to yours, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! 

THANKSGIVING SAFETY TIPS
The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially at Thanksgiving. Kids love to be involved in holiday preparations. Safety in the kitchen is important, especially on Thanksgiving Day when there is a lot of activity and people at home.

Safety tips:


•Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.

•Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.

•Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.

•Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.

•Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.

•Keep knives out of the reach of children.
The Holidays are in full swing and with Christmas just a couple of days away; many have already started their Holiday travels. Being the insurance people that we are, here are a few tips for a safe and secure season of travel.
1) Make your home seem like someone is still there. You can do this several ways. Leave your front and back porch lights on so that at night your house is lit up. Ask a neighbor to collect your mail while you are gone so it doesn’t stack up. You can also ask the post office to hold if for you until you get back. Another way to make it look like you are home is to ask a neighbor to pull in and out of your driveway at some point if it snows giving the appearance that you have been in and out of your house.
 
2) Don’t show off to the Facebook world that you are on vacation. I know this can be tough for some but letting everyone know you are out of town on Facebook can be dangerous. We recommend waiting until you get home from your trip before you post vacation pictures.
 
3) Car travelers should be prepared for heavy snow at all times. The best way to do this is to make sure you have extra blankest, windshield washer fluid, ice scrapers and even a small shovel. You never know when you might need any of those things. Also, be sure to have your phone charged during the trip so that you have it in case of an emergency.

 4) Don’t skimp on heat in your home: This time last year our big recommendation in our “Traveling Over the Holiday” blog article was to keep the heat in your house at a reasonable level so your pipes don’t freeze. Again, we recommend this.
Arctic temperatures can have a dramatic effect on your building — and your livelihood. Regular maintenance and a winter weather plan can help you avoid any negative impact.

WHAT CAN HAPPEN
  Winter storms frequently cause electrical power failure, which in turn can disable your heating system. If this happens, water-filled piping (such as sprinklers, domestic water pipes and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems) may freeze and rupture. It is important to assess the potential for this hazard.
  • Inspect all safety shutoff valves and cutoff switches on combustion equipment such as rooftop units, boilers and ovens, including water main shutoffs and main electrical service disconnects.
  • Have qualified contractors or staff properly inspect heating, air-handling units and space heaters on at least an annual basis. Assure that space heaters are monitored for fire safety.
  • Review the location and storage of flammable liquids such as propane, gasoline and diesel fuel. Should your sprinkler system freeze and require that it be disabled, it is recommended to reduce this storage to a minimum to minimize the amount of fuel in a fire.
Without proper winter weather preparation, your business could experience property damage — roof collapse, pipe rupture and more.
When should I file a claim and when should I not?  It is a common question we get in our agency and every time it is asks we always say, "it depends on each situation".  Let's first tackle this question with how claims can affect your insurance. 

It varies by insurance company but most companies look at a 6 year window for home insurance claims and a 3 to 5 year window for auto insurance claims.   What this means is that if you file a home claim it can have an affect on your premium for up to 6 years and if you file a claim on your auto insurance it can affect your premium for 3 to 5 years.  If you have more than one claim in this window of time it can really have an impact on your premium and may even cause some insurance companies to look at canceling your coverage.  With this in mind, it is best to consult with your insurance agent to see what prior claims you have on your record before deciding whether or not to file a claim.  If you already have a  claim inside one of those windows of time then it may be worth contemplating whether to file a claim or not.


Let me break for one second to mention that liability claims are a must file.  These would be auto accidents that involve a third party bodily injury or a homeowner claim that involves injury to another person.  These need to be handled by the insurance company and their legal firms.  Also, if you have a large claim such as a totaled vehicle or large size house damage, these too are claims you would want to file without hesitation.  The claims that we are talking about that may or may not be worth filing are things such as backing your car into a light post, backing into an unoccupied car or driving off the road and causing damage to the front bumper when you hit a ditch.  On the homeowner side, it would be small claims such as ice dams that cause a $1000 or $2000 worth of damage or a roof claim that the repair is only a $1000 or so.  These are the types of claims it is worth contemplating prior to filing.  When you factor in deductibles and the affect on your premium for a few years, those smaller claims may be best to pay out of pocket.
Data breaches make the news when big retail chains get hit with a cyber attack. You may even be notified of the breach by the retailer if they have reason to believe your data was compromised. Or, you may read about data breaches when you receive a new credit card or are offered identity theft protection. What you might not hear about are the cases where a business owner goes bankrupt after a data breach. A 2012 study by the National Cyber Security Alliance found that 60 percent of small to midsize businesses that suffered a breach went out of business within six months.

FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
Your first line of defense as a business owner is to educate yourself on how to prevent or mitigate a breach. Follow news reports, and take advantage of online materials available to help you prepare for and respond to cyber attacks.
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