‘Tis the season to be jolly! And while you’re decking the halls and anticipating that upcoming holiday party, it’s also a good time to review the protections you have for your home and guests with your homeowners insurance. We all want to be good hosts, anticipate needs, and make sure our guests are safe This requires an understanding of what your homeowners insurance policy does (and does not) cover and how you can help keep the holidays accident free.

Keeping Guests Safe and Sound

The best thing for your holiday parties and your homeowners insurance is taking care to make sure guests don’t injure themselves at your home. A few things to plan before and during the party:

• Make Sure Your Exterior is Visitor-Friendly: New England weather can change at a moment’s notice, so make sure to stock up on snow and ice removal gear, deal with leaves or other fallen debris, and keep walkways and paths clear to avoid slips and falls.
• Check Your Home for Slip and Fall Hazards: Take a look around your home with the eyes of a guest. Are there any loose carpets, sudden drops, or awkwardly placed furniture? Think about clearing places and moving things around. If you’ve got children, do a pass for toys too!
• Safe Eating and Drinking: Keep food and drink conservative; in other words, don’t let perishable foods sit out too long in the warmth of your home, and don’t let a guest have one too many. Check your policy or talk with an agent about if your homeowners policy covers food poisoning and incidents involving alcohol.

Think about also including an Umbrella Policy in your insurance portfolio, which can extend more liability protections to you and your family.

Avoiding Party Damage to Your Home

Besides avoiding liability for your guests’ safety, it’s also important to make sure the opposite is true: you want to mitigate potential damage to your home and possessions. A few ideas to help reduce the chance you’ll need to make a claim (big or small) on your policies:

• Keep Parking & Driving Safe: A lot of guests means a lot of cars moving on your property. Make sure obstacles (such as mailboxes and unexpected curbs) are well-marked. If it’s been snowing, think about shoveling the driveway too and setting down deicers, salt, or sand.
• Protect Your Rooms from Hazards: Winter parties can bring out uncommon dangers in your home, especially related to fire. Have an extinguisher on hand in the kitchen, and make sure candles and fireplaces are properly monitored, protected, and screened.
• Theft and Vandalism: At very large parties, you might not know all the guests or their intentions. Having a home inventory for your insurance can help with compensation for lost items. Broken objects, windows, and other property damage may be covered by insurance.

It’s important to customize your homeowners insurance to fit your specific needs.

At the Safeside Insurance Agency, it’s been our goal for the last 30 years to help those in Worcester County and the greater Massachusetts area get the right coverage. We aim to be available to our loyal customers for whenever anything happens. Learn more about us and how we can help, contact us online, or call us at (508) 753-8862.