Protect the things you love this summer

Things sure are heating up!

It’s that time of year when we are getting ready for celebrations and events, backyard BBQs, get-togethers, and even taking that well-deserved road trip away. However, when the temperature rises so can the number of insurance claims that are filed. Homeowners must be prepared to deal with anything that life may throw at them so that they can protect the things they love.

With summer just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to check that your insurance policies are up-to-date. Making sure that you have adequate coverage on your insurance is a great start, but there are other easy measures you can take to help keep your property and possessions safe this summer.

1. Pre-summer Property Clean

When stepping into summer it is important to think about how you can protect your home against bushfire season. A pre-summer clean around your home can be a good step towards making sure you limit fire risks. Start by removing any leaves, dead trees and rubbish from around your property. In particular, if you have gutters, make sure they get a good clean out. These materials serve as kindling for fires so it is important to keep your yard in check. Furthermore, ensure flammable liquids are also kept in fireproof containers and stored in cool and safe areas, particularly in areas that may be a higher risk for fires. If you haven’t already created and filled out a Bushfire checklist here’s one just in case. Bushfire Preparation Checklist.

2. Fire up the BBQ or Grill

As fun as it may be cooking a barbecue and entertaining your friends and family, always ensure that you are using your barbecue safely. Firstly, make sure your barbeque is safe to use before lighting it. If you are using a gas barbecue, make sure your gas cylinder hose has no leaks. A simple test for this is applying dishwashing liquid and water to the hose, this can quickly reveal escaping gas by releasing bubbles. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure that it is out of the way of burnable objects that may be near or move away while the grill coals are hot. Choose a safe and flat surface area for your grill and ensure that it’s a safe distance from the house.

Make sure you keep children and pets away from open flames and hot grills. And ensure you wait until the grill is cooled down before storing or covering it. Right before you turn on the BBQ make sure you do clean and remove any combustible items that may be blown by the wind. And never leave your BBQ unattended (you wouldn’t want things to get too hot to handle!). However, accidents do happen, it’s just the way of life. Accidental damage cover could help you get out of strife, find out more.

3. Secure and protect your home

The summer season means that you are more likely to be out and about and not always going to be home. Unfortunately, this can also be peak season for break-ins and burglaries. Firstly, the simplest way to help avoid unwanted people coming into your home is to ensure you have strong locks on doors and windows. Make sure when you are planning on leaving the house do a full inspection for any security risk including the backyard – make sure your ladder is locked away!

If you have a home security system installed already make sure the technology is up-to-date. These days many surveillance systems can also enable you to view live-stream footage through your mobile phone, tablets or web browser. You can monitor your home anywhere at any time. And if you are planning to go away for an extended amount of time, why not ask a trusted friend or neighbour to keep an eye on your home, or even get them to house sit while you are away. In the unfortunate event of a break-in, you can have peace of mind when you conveniently combine both building and contents insurance on the one policy. Comprehensive cover for your home and contents can help cover the repair or replacement to your building and belongings. Take a look at the key benefits of our Home and Contents Insurance to decide which cover is right for you.

If you are looking to travel in the near future make sure you look into travel insurance. Our Travel Insurance offers a variety of policies to choose from to cover health, loss and damage to personal property, and interruption of your holiday, take a look now.

4. Road trip away

There’s probably nothing better than packing your bags and hitting the road for that long-awaited break away from home. Before hitting the road, make sure you give your car a once over at least a week leading up to your trip. Particularly if your car has not been serviced for a while.

Here are a handful of things to check:

• Look under the hood
• Check coolant
• Check oil
• Check other fluids (windscreen washer etc.)
• Check tyres for balding and make sure they don’t need air
• Make sure all your lights & brakes are working
• No cracks in the windows
• No flashing lights on the dash
• AC is working properly
• Jumper leads are present
• You have a spare tyre, car jack & all the tools you need to change your tyre should you need to.

It does pay to have a mechanic give your car a look over before you go away to double-check that your car is safe to travel a long distance in. You wouldn’t want to be left stranded with a problem that could have been fixed. And finally (this should be a no-brainer) - never leave home without Car Insurance in place. If something was to happen, car insurance could help cover you for loss or damage. Also, consider roadside assistance too as you don’t want to get caught out without any help should you get stuck – “touch wood.”

Disclaimer:

MyState Bank Limited (MyState Bank) ABN 89 067 729 195 AFSL 240896 acts under its own AFSL and under an agreement with the Insurance product issuer, Insurance Australia Limited ABN 11 000 016 722 (IAL) trading as CGU Insurance.

This is general advice only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider the appropriateness of any product to your own circumstances. IALs normal underwriting, terms and conditions, limitations, exclusions and acceptance criteria apply. Consider IALs Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the relevant Target Market Determination (TMD) at mystate.com.au/legal or call 138 001 to see if these products are right for you.