Home, Sweet (Second) Home

Protect your vacation home from common causes of water damage.

Whether it’s a cabin in the woods, a house or condo on the beach or a chalet in the mountains, your vacation home can be a wonderful place to relax and unwind. However, secondary residences require additional precautions compared to your primary home.

An often-overlooked hazard for secondary residences that stand unoccupied for extended periods is water damage. Homeowners incur thousands of dollars in expenses each year due to damage caused by water escaping from broken pipes or malfunctioning appliances and plumbing fixtures. Because the home is unoccupied, the problem is often not discovered until major damage has occurred.

Utilize Systems to Minimize Water Damage Risk

You can help minimize this risk through the installation of an automatic water shut-off system. These systems use sensors located near water heaters, washing machines, refrigerators, toilets or other appliances to detect water escaping or leaking. The system shuts off water supply to the appliance, preventing costly flooding.

Like any home, a secondary residence can also be vulnerable to sump pump failure caused by power outage or malfunction. Backup sump pumps are now available that do not rely on battery power; rather, they use the home’s water pressure to function.

Investing in these systems can protect your vacation home from extensive water damage, providing you with peace of mind when you’re not there.

Additional Ways to Protect Your Secondary Home

Water damage can also occur when clogged gutters cause winter snowmelt or spring rainfall from the roof to back up into the house and through the ceiling. Take care to clean the gutters after all leaves have fallen and before you leave the home unoccupied for the season.

Minimize other types of loss or damage with these prevention basics:

• Lock all doors and windows upon departure, and consider installing fire and burglar alarms
• Set up timers to turn lights off and on
• Install motion-sensor outside lighting
• Arrange for someone to check on the property periodically

Following a few homecare basics can help minimize the chance of significant and costly damage to your vacation home, providing peace of mind as you relax and unwind.

This loss control information is advisory only. The author assumes no responsibility for management or control of loss control activities. Not all exposures are identified in this article. Contact your local, independent insurance agent for coverage advice and policy service.