Disaster Safety Blog

Things to know before you go

Whether you're going on vacation for spring break, travel extensively for business or pleasure, have rental property that is unoccupied, or share time between two homes, there are things you can and should do before closing up your house for any real length of time, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

Adjust Thermostat - One of the easiest things to do, but something easily forgotten, is adjusting the thermostat.

    * In colder climates, don't turn the thermostat off. Instead, lower it to a temperature that's warm enough to keep pipes from freezing but low enough that you are not spending money to heat an empty home. (No lower than 55 degrees.)
    * In warmer climates, high temperatures and humidity can damage furniture or other home contents. In this case, set your air conditioner to 85 degrees.

Protect Plumbing - Both plastic (PVC) and copper pipes can burst. Pipes, water heaters and other appliances can leak, or in freezing weather, pipes can freeze and burst, which can cause major damage in a home left unattended.

    * If you are leaving for an extended period of time, the best protection is to have the water shut off and the water lines drained.
          o Seek the advice of a professional plumber, who can shut off the valve at the water meter and send water outdoors and away from the house or into a basement drain. Once this has been done, the plumber should flush all toilets and drain the showerhead pipe.
          o Shut off the gas to the water heater (or the gas company can do this for you), or turn the temperature control to a "vacation" setting. If your house has a water softener, shut off its supply line.
    * If you choose to leave the water service turned on or will be away only a short while:
          o Make sure all pipes are insulated, especially in a garage or basement next to an outside wall or in crawl spaces and the attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing.
          o Heat tape can also be used to wrap pipes. Wrap the tape or cables around water pipes, plug in the cord and the heating element will warm the pipes to prevent freezing. Closely follow all manufacturers' installation and operation instructions.
          o Turn off the water supply to individual fixtures like your washing machine, icemaker, toilets and sinks.
            Flooding often occurs when hoses are worn or ruptured, or there is a leak at the connection.
          o Don't leave appliances (dishwasher, washing machine or dryer) running when you leave, and check to make sure toilets aren't running. As an extra precaution, unplug your toaster, coffee maker, microwave oven, computer and television.
          o Make sure the sump pump is working, especially in late winter or early spring when melting snow or heavy rain increases the risk of basement flooding.

Plan for High Wind - If you're going to be away during a season that brings high wind, protect your property:

          o Trim dead limbs from trees and shrubbery and store outdoor furniture and other objects that could become damaging missiles if picked up by high wind.
          o Close and lock all doors, windows, skylights and vents to keep out wind and wind-driven rain.

Make Your House or Business Look Occupied - An empty, unsecured property can be a tempting target for thieves and vandals. 

    * Put interior and exterior lights on timers and/or motion sensors. Set the timers on staggered hours to turn lights on and off at different times.
    * Make sure tapered deadbolt locks all installed and in use on entry doors. The taper makes it almost impossible to use a wrench or other tool to twist the lock open.
    * Suspend mail service and newspaper delivery.
    * Install a monitored security system. (Insurers often provide discounts for devices that make a home safer, so consider the financial benefit.)
    * Inform the local police department that your house will be empty.

Wildfire season heats up in New Mexico

A wildfire in New Mexico is still threatening properties today, despite being partially contained by firefighters Wednesday.

What is being called the Quail Ridge Fire is burning near Silver City. The blaze has consumed nearly 1,800 acres and destroyed 13 houses and 47 other buildings, according to news reports. Officials say up to 100 structures within the burn area and another 100 buildings within a quarter-mile of the fire perimeter are still considered threatened.

 Find solutions to protect your New Mexico home, business or farm from wildfire at www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire.

Wild weather puts properties at increased risk of damage

Weather across the U.S. is a case of extremes right now and threats to properties remain high. Take control of your risk, regardless of what threats you may be facing.

In the west and parts of the south and east, including Florida and Texas, drought conditions and windy weather have elevated the threat of wildfires. While in parts of the Midwest and southeast, residents are dealing with swollen rivers and flooded communities. Communities along the east coast are once again digging out from a snowstorm. Another storm is expected to hit the east coast later this week.

Find resources to protect your property from flooding, freezing weather, wildfire and other natural hazards at DisasterSafety.org, where you can enter your ZIP Code and get a personalized list of risks that face the areas where you live and work.

Fire season takes early toll in Virginia

The fire season is only weeks old in Virginia, but wildfires have already claimed 45 homes and other structures, fire officials report.

Dry conditions and high winds have fueled 150 blazes that have scorched more than 4,500 acres since igniting Saturday. At one point, 700 homes were in the path of a fire before firefighters gained control of the blaze. Weather conditions have improved today, which should aid in the fire fight.

IBHS offers resources to help home and business owners protect properties against wildfire damage. Download a free copy of the IBHS Wildfire Retrofit Guide: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Edition, which includes information specifically developed for Virginia properties.

Wildfire is focus of spring work at IBHS Research Center

Engineers at the IBHS Research Center are hard at work creating ember storms to see how homes and businesses can be better constructed and retrofitted to be withstand wildfires.

IBHS researchers are working with experts from the Savannah River National Laboratory, the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate to prepare for the first-ever full-scale wildfire simulation. The simulation will be conducted in March at the lab in South Carolina, and it is just the beginning of wildfire research to be conducted there.

During the simulation on March 24, a 1,200 square foot, one-story home will be placed on the turntable in the lab's large test chamber. The home will be subjected to radiant heat and a wind-blown ember shower to demonstrate differences in ignition potential between various construction techniques, building materials, and landscaping materials.

Wildfire is a threat in 38 states. Find out how to protect your home or business with an IBHS wildfire retrofit guide created for your region. Visit www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire .

Disasters and losses reached new highs in 2010, new report reveals

Natural disasters worldwide cost insurers more in property losses in 2010, according to a new report.

The new analysis by Munich Re, a member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), reveals insurers paid $37 billion in claims, which exceeded the 10-year average of $35 billion. This pay out was also considerably higher than the $22 billion of losses in 2009.

The losses were fueled by the 950 natural catastrophes that occurred in 2010, which made the year one of the worst in the 30 years since record keeping began, and exceeded the annual average of 785 natural catastrophic events by 21 percent.

The greatest losses of life and property were the result of earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Central China; a heat wave in Russia, and floods in Pakistan. Even though the fatalities were highest in Haiti, the insured losses were greatest in Chile with $30 billion in damage because most Haitian properties were not insured.

According to the report, global insurers had high levels of earthquake exposure in Chile because of the lower risks associated with the modern building codes that were adopted and enforced after other earthquakes in that country's history. These codes resulted in lower fatalities and reduced property damage overall.

In Pakistan, rainfall from monsoons between July and September resulted in $9.5 billion in insured damage.

The 2010 hurricane season spared the United States, despite having the highest number of storms recorded in the last 100 years. There were a total of 19 tropical cyclones during the year, making it the third highest in recorded history. Overall, the season was a quiet one for insurers. Still, the unusually high amount of tropical activity has insurers watching for what's next.

In a release, Munich Re’s Reinsurance CEO Torsten Jeworrek said, “2010 showed the major risks we have to cope with. There were a number of severe earthquakes. The hurricane season was also eventful – it was just fortunate that the tracks of most of the storms remained over the open sea. But things could have turned out very differently. The severe earthquakes and the hurricane season with so many storms demonstrate once again that there must be no slackening of our efforts to analyse these risks in detail and provide the necessary insurance covers at adequate prices. These prices calculated by the insurance industry make it possible to assess the economic consequences of these otherwise difficult-to-evaluate risks.”

Find effective ways to reduce the risk of your home or business being damaged by a natural disaster and maintenance information at www.DisasterSafety.org.

Natural disasters cost reinsurers $20 billion in 2010, report says

Earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand topped the list of costliest disasters for reinsurers in 2010, according to a new report.

The new report by Guy Carpenter & Company, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, found the reinsurance industry paid $8 billion in losses associated with the Chilean earthquake, while the New Zealand earthquake carried a price tag of $4 billion in insured damage.

Of the eight natural catastrophes that individually caused insured losses of more than $1 billion, five were related to severe weather and storms in the United States, Australia and Europe, for a total loss of $7.9 billion, according to the report. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico was the only man-made event to result in insured losses of $1 billion or more in 2010 at approximately $3.5 billion.

Guy Carpenter also reports that reinsurance losses in the United States generally matched those of 2009, totalling $11.2 billion in the first nine months of 2010. This was a decline from the $25.2 billion paid by reinsurers in 2008, due mostly to losses from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Limiting exposures to natural disasters such as hail, high winds, hurricanes, wind-driven water and wildfire is the goal of the new IBHS Research Center, of which Guy Carpenter is a founding member. Learn more about this unique, world-class facility.

Disaster-related insured losses continued climbing trend in 2010

Year end figures for insured catastrophe losses worldwide are emerging from leading firms, most recently including Aon Benfield and Swiss Re, which agree disaster-related losses are on the rise.

Aon Benfield, an affiliate member of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, reports in its "Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report" that "global natural catastrophic activity was far higher than in the previous three years, with 314 separate events." The report tallies overall economic losses at $252 billion and insured losses at $38 billion. This is an increase from 2009, when there were 222 events that resulted in $58 billion in economic losses and $20 billion insured losses.

Aon Benfield's tally is a slight increase from one recently released by Swiss Re, which put total economic losses at $222 billion and insured losses at $36 billion.

Regardless of the dollar figure, there is little doubt the costliest disaster of 2010 for insurers was the earthquake in Chile, which resulted in insured losses of $8.5 billion. In terms of economic losses, flooding in Pakistan topped the 2010 list of events with a price tag of more than $30 billion.

One effective way to reduce disaster-related insured and economic losses is to take a communitywide approach to mitigation. Through the new IBHS Research Center and its other options, IBHS is working to develop cost-effective retrofit options for existing properties, new construction solutions and to push for the adoption and enforcement of strong, modern building codes. These types of codes were credited for reducing insured losses in Chile, which adopted modern codes to reduce earthquake damage. Read more about IBHS public policy efforts.

S.C. residents at heightened risk of wildfire

The risk of wildfire for South Carolina residents living in Horry County is very high, forestry officials are warning. The Sun News reports that forestry representatives are urging residents to become "Firewise" as part of a renewed campaign to avoid a repeat of the damaging wildfire in 2009.

“The risk for wildfire exists everywhere in South Carolina, but these communities lie right in the middle of the most fire-prone area of the state, according to national risk assessments,” Mike Bozzo with the state's division of forestry told the newspaper. “The hard truth of the matter is, these days, we have to get more residents to take fire prevention into their own hands and play a bigger, on-going role in their own safety.”

The 2009 wildfire burned about a 30 square mile area around North Myrtle Beach and damaged more than 170 homes, according to officials. The Firewise program, which is part of the National Fire Protection Association, is a communitywide approach to reducing the risk of wildfire to homes. Thirteen S.C. communities participate in the program, including three in Horry County.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recognizes the value of Firewise and other national wildfire mitigation programs aimed at communtiy preparedness.

Individual home and business owners who want to reduce their personal risks should take advantage of the IBHS Wildfire Retrofit Guide: Southeast Edition, which includes a risk assessment checklist, cost estimator guide to help prioritize property protection projects, and a detailed how-to guide for completing these projects.

The IBHS guide was designed specifically for the types of construction commonly found in South Carolina. Download a free copy of the IBHS Wildfire Retrofit Guide: Southeast Edition.

Find more wildfire property protection resources for businesses, farms and homes at www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire.

What will changing weather mean for willdfire risks?

Cooperative weather patterns have the United States on track for its "quietest wildfire year since 1998," according to the National Interagency Fire Center, but parts of the country still could experience a heightened fire risk due to drier conditions.

To date, 3.3 million acres in the U.S. have been burned due to wildfires, the fire center reports. That is compared to an annual average of 6.8 million acres burned from January through November from 2000-2009. By contrast, more than 9 million acres burned in 2006 and again in 2007 during that same time period.

The present fire conditions are attributed to persistently cool, wet weather in the normally arid and fire-plagued West throughout the late spring and summer. The South was also wetter than average. 

However, the transition from an El Niño to a La Niña this past summer, along with ongoing drought, will increase the likelihood for wildfires across the southern U.S. through the winter and into the spring. The driest conditions are expected from eastern New Mexico to Texas and Florida. Wildfires are most common through the winter in the southern Plains, and in March in Florida.

The dryness is already causing problems in Texas and Oklahoma, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor. Georgia and Florida have also been extremely dry. According to the drought monitor, 90 percent of Georgia and 69 percent of Florida are experiencing drought conditions. Over the past 90 days, parts of northeastern and east-central Florida have received about 1 foot less than their average rainfall.

While conditions are favorable, take steps to protect your home or business from wildfires. Start by conducting a risk assessment using the checklist from the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) that is part of the series of nine regionally specific IBHS Wildfire Retrofit Guides. Download a free copy of the guide designed for your region of the country at www.DisasterSafety.org/wildfire, and look for the checklist in the back. Then, follow the advice to improve your property's ability to survive a wildfire.