IBHS News Releases

Tampa – When your house needs you the most – you may not be there.

What would happen if you head off for the long holiday weekend or go away on an extended business trip and a pipe sprang a leak, the toilet kept running or the water line to your icemaker clogged? 

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) developed “Is Your Home Alone?,” a guide to help people close up their homes if they’re leaving for several days at a time.  It can help you decide whether to turn the water off, or if you leave it on, protect your home from potential water woes.  Suggestions also help plan for high wind and make the house look lived in.

“Is Your Home Alone?” also includes simple steps for routine maintenance that will help protect the home year round, and a section by the Insurance Information Institute about obtaining proper insurance for homes that are left unoccupied.

A checklist attached to the guide can be torn off and carried in-hand with instructions for final preparations that should be made right before the owner heads out the door.

“Nothing could ruin the memory of a dream vacation more quickly than coming home to a nightmare,” says Wendy Rose of IBHS.  “By taking the time to make sure the house is in order, you increase the chance your trip will go as planned and your return home won’t include cleaning up water damage or worse.”

“Is Your Home Alone?” can be found in the Maintenance Matters section of the IBHS web site.  Free single copies can be requested from the site or by calling toll free 1 (866) 657-IBHS (4247).

The Institute for Business & Home Safety, an initiative of the insurance industry, works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other property losses by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.