Mitigating Loss From Dwelling Fires

Posted on: July 24, 2015 by Aegis General

Many American homeowners are unaware that one of the biggest disaster threats their properties and families face is a dwelling fire. This is according to the American Red Cross website, which also states that 36 people suffer injuries as a result of home fires every day, and over $7 billion in property damage occurs each year. While obtaining the right Dwelling Fire Insurance to financially protect against these disasters is crucial for your clients, doing everything in their power to prevent a fire, or at least mitigate the losses from a fire, is essential.

While some types of dwelling fires, such as an electrical fire or expanding wildfire, are out of your clients’ control and not preventable,  the tips highlighted below could keep other types of fires from occurring inside the home.

• Practice good cooking habits; never walk away from an open flame in the kitchen, whether it’s a stovetop or a grill.
• Do not smoke in bed.
• Keep furniture, curtains, dish towels, and all other flammable objects at least three feet from fireplaces, space heaters, and any other source of heat.
• Do not allow easy access for children to matches or lighters.

Even with the best preventive measures, dwelling fires could still happen. The American Red Cross recognizes this and shares the following tips on how to reduce the risk of injury and loss of life due to a fire.

• Practice a fire escape plan with all family members at least twice a year; more often if family members are young children and may not remember.
• Make note of how long the fire escape plan takes to assess if changes should be made.
• Maintain working smoke alarms and change their batteries every year, unless they have a long-life battery.
• Test smoke alarms every month to ensure they still work.

When it comes to financial protection, whether your client is looking for property coverage for their primary residence or rental property, our dwelling fire insurance policies can be written to meet their specific needs. These policies are not limited to fire and smoke related damages; coverage can be obtained for the contents of a dwelling as well.

Aegis General Insurance Agency is dedicated to serving and meeting the property and casualty insurance needs of hard-to-place and Specialty Homeowners Markets. To learn more about our operation and offerings, contact us today (855) 399-0966.

Posted in: blog Dwelling Fire

Tagged: Dwelling Fire Fire Safety Home Fire Homeowners Insurance Liability