Most homeowners strive to make their home a safe and happy place for family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and everyone else that happens to visit on a frequent basis, or even on rare occasions. However, a plethora of accidents and injuries happen to occur during gatherings at residential properties. Fortunately, the vast majority of these accidents and injuries are completely avoidable. That being stated, when a visitor to your home is involved in an accident or becomes injured at your property, you are responsible from a legal and financial standpoint.
That is just one of the multitude of reasons why your homeowners insurance policy is so important. In essence, it covers your guests’ medical expenses if they happen to suffer an injury at your property. Your homeowners’ insurance policy also covers legal fees and any financial damages if an injured visitor happens to sue you in a court of law. Hopefully, it never gets to that stage. The following ways to avoid unnecessary accidents in your home will go a long way in ensuring that you are not sued by any of your visitors.
Clean Up Spills Immediately. How many times has someone spilled something at one of your parties or smaller gatherings? You probably need a calculator in order to figure out that amount. Needless to say, it happens all of the time. From good old Uncle Ned dropping his full plate of food on the floor, to one of the kids spilling his or her cup of juice, it may seem that you spend most of the party cleaning up after them. That is actually a good thing, because it is incredibly important to clean up those spills immediately after they occur. Otherwise you are creating a potential slipping hazard that could have otherwise been avoided. When people slip and fall they typically injure themselves.
Secure All Area Rugs. If you have area rugs covering slippery surfaces such as wood, tile, slate, granite, or marble floors it is important to make sure that they are secure prior to having people over to your home. Otherwise the area rugs may very well move around and cause people to slip or trip. You can avoid this by securing them with nonskid pads, or double-sided carpet tape in order to keep them in place. You can also purchase area rugs that contain slip-resistance backings. Either way, securing all of the area rugs in your home will go a long way in preventing your guests from becoming injured.
Do Not Forget About Stair Safety. Stairs can be the cause of accidents in the home for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, a great deal of people trip or slip and fall when climbing up or down stairs. This holds true even if there are absolutely zero issues with the stairs. In order to reduce the risk of falls, make sure that your handrail actually runs the full length of the staircase. In additions, if your staircases are carpeted, make sure that the carpet is secure. Do not put any area rugs or mats at the base or top of the stairs, as they are tripping hazards when located on those areas.
If you are planning to paint stairs at your home, please keep in mind that the paint may very well cause a slippery surface. Add a secure runner to provide the stairs with additional traction. For outside steps that are not well lit, you can either add flood lights that point on the stairs, and or paint the edges white so they can be seen in the dark.
In conclusion, taking the additional time to ensure that accidents do not occur at your home when hosting guests will go a long way in avoiding injuries. If you have any questions, please call (508) 831-0133 to contact an associate at Zawada Insurance. We are happy to walk you through the details of your homeowners’ policy and explain your coverage options. We look forward to helping you with all of your personal and or business related insurance needs.