Halloween Home Safety – 4 Tips

One of the most enjoyable parts about Halloween for most adults is handing out candy to all the adorable trick-or-treaters. However, it is important to make sure your home is a safe place for area children. Here are four tips to consider.

#1: Cleanup Your Yard

Keeping your yard tidy for trick-or-treaters is essential to safety. Put away any garden hoses or other outdoor items that pose a tripping risk. Fill in any low areas or holes to help keep small children from not seeing them and falling. And make sure all low tree branches are trimmed to eliminate bumped heads as the kids make their way in a hurry from the sidewalk to your door.

#2: Ensure Your Property is Well-Lit

It is also important to ensure that your property is well-lit on Halloween night. Turn on your porch light and as many exterior lights as possible to help trick-or-treaters see the path to your door. Not only does this let neighborhood parents know that you are home and handing out candy, making sure your home is illuminated provides an extra level of safety. However, try to avoid candles and other open flames as lighting sources, as they come with an increased fire risk.

#3: Secure Your Pets

Another way to ensure everyone has a happy Halloween is by securing your pets. New visitors can sometimes be alarming to dogs and cats, causing them to try to run out the door each time a new trick-or-treater arrives. In some cases, this can lead to bites, lost pets, or animals being hit by a car and injured. The best course of action is to keep your feline friend or canine companion in a special room or kennel crate until the festivities are over.

#4: Make Sure You Have Adequate Homeowner’s Insurance Coverage

While many people find looking through their homeowner’s insurance policy a bit daunting, there’s definitely nothing spooky about making sure you’re covered for Halloween guests. Anytime you have visitors to your property, you run the risk of having a liability claim against your coverage if that person becomes injured on the premises. This is true even in the case of trick-or-treaters, so it is always wise to double check before the day arrives.

Of course, reviewing your home insurance policy doesn’t have to be difficult. Please contact our team at Express Insurance today for details.