When you think about safeguarding your home, what comes to mind? If you’re like most people you probably think about fire, theft, and natural disasters. Those are real dangers, but don’t forget about water damage. Water damage is actually the most common cause of property related loss. In fact, in a survey of 1,200 homeowners, Chubb found that water leaks only ranked fourth on the list of top home-related concerns.

What’s more? Not only is water damage common, it’s also very costly. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost of a single water damage claim is about $10,000¹. Even more concerning is that claims are only getting more expensive, with Chubb claims data showing that losses over $500,000 have doubled and those over $1,000,000 have tripled since 2015.

So, what can you do about it? Start by understanding how water impacts your home year-round.

• With summer in full swing, many homeowners will head out of town for a well-deserved vacation. Whether you’re away for a day, week or month, time is not on your side when it comes to water entering your home. Yet, most homeowners don’t leave relevant information with caretakers. Just 30%, reported leaving water leak information with caretakers and only 17% provided information about what to do if a flood occurs.

• About one third of homeowners believe improvements to their home’s exterior has the greatest impact on its value. Whether installing a new patio, outdoor kitchen or sprinkler system, the cool autumn months are the perfect time to make such enhancements. But, when adding new outdoor features, many homeowners fail to consider how these additions will alter the slope of their yard. Failing to take this into account could mean inadvertently redirecting water to flow toward your home.
• Homeowners are 40% more likely to experience a water leak during the cold winter months. Despite this, less than a quarter of homeowners install pipe insulation. Taking this simple and inexpensive step is the single best way to prevent your home from unexpectedly springing a leak this winter.
• Spring is the perfect time to give your home a bit of TLC… especially all the to-dos you’ve left unaddressed for months. Unbeknownst to you, that leaky faucet you left unattended all winter has been dripping 57 gallons of excess water a week, according to the EPA. When it comes to water-related home maintenance, time is of the essence. Unfortunately, 30% of homeowners wait more than a week to fix home maintenance issues.

Water is all around us, but the one place it shouldn’t be is inside your home. For tips on how to keep it out of your home, check out Chubb’s water protection resource site and the full results of their water risk survey.

¹ https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance