The first snow is among us!  With the promise of more snow and dropping tempatures, we have a few pointers to help avoid home insurance claims this winter.

1- Have your your fireplace, wood burning stove and flue checked for buildup and or creososte.  Make sure to clean as to avoid a potential fire hazard.

2-  When you head out of town, protect pipes from freezing.  Freezing pipes can cause flooding damage.  A useful trick is to wrap them in insulation.  Layers of news paper wrapped in plastic (which also help keep moisture out) can do the trick.  Also allow faucets to drip a little hot water as the running water will also help avoid freezing pipes.

3-  In case of an emergency know where to locate the water valves and how to shut them off in order to minimize water damage.