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Tips for Clients

Send your clients the following tips to help them mitigate water and fire damage within their home.

Ways To Mitigate Water

OUTDOOR:

•  Check your eavestroughs and downspouts to ensure they are not blocked.
•  Downspouts should discharge at least 3 feet from the side of the home
•  Disconnect any downspouts that are connected to the sewer system.
•  Install window wells on basement windows at or near ground level.

INDOOR:

•  Install a backwater valve.
•  Install a sump pump.
•  Have a licensed professional check your weeping tiles in case they are damaged or blocked.
•  Older clay piping can get blocked with tree roots and water can get into your home. Consider having them replaced with metal, PVC or ABS pipes.
•  Keep your drains and toilets free of grease and other foreign objects that can cause blockage.

Ways To Mitigate Fire

The provincial, territorial and federal governments rallied together to create a program called Firesmart, intended to help mitigate the risk of fire damage from a wildfire. The program shows how homeowners can implement certain changes to their home in order to reduce the risk:

•  Ensuring the roof is made out of material that cannot burn, which can help reduce the risk of flying embers catching fire.
•  Cleaning up debris on the roof.
•  Do not plant trees within 10 metres of the home.
•  Keep the lawn healthy and green.
•  Within the subsequent 10 metres, ensure trees are trimmed and healthy.

© Copyright 2010 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the May 2010 edition of Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine.