Avoid Getting Lit Up with High Rates for Homeowner Insurance

In an effort to better protect one’s home, homeowners’ should consider using lightning protection systems and surge arrestors which can be implemented as mitigation methods.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), fires due to lightning represent a major threat to life and property, however the risk is oftentimes overlooked by homeowners and companies.

The I.I.I.’s study of U.S. homeowners’ insurance data reports there were 185,789 lightning claims in 2009 costing $798 million, with a typical claim leading to $4,296 worth of damages. The losses varied from damage to costly electronic equipment to structural fires that wiped out entire residences.

Lightning tied to thunderstorms and in some cases hurricanes can pose a number of fire hazards. The intense power of lightning’s electrical charge and intense can lead to destructive power surges through home circuitry, burn holes in steel pipes, explode brick and roofing materials, and ignite home and business property fires.

Damage due to lightning, including fire, is covered by standard homeowners and business insurance policies. A number of home and business insurance policies offer coverage for power surges that are the result of lightning hitting a residence or business. There is also coverage for lightning damage incurred by autos under the comprehensive portion of an auto policy.

Among the best ways to decrease the likelihood of a lightning-caused fire is having professionally installed lightning protection systems. A lightning protection system offers a network of low resistance paths to intercept, by a safe means, lightning’s dangerous electricity and project it to the ground without any impact to a structure or those in it.

Another factor to consider is that while a point-of-use surge protector is helpful to plug in a limited number of items and offer a minimum level of protection for everyday household items, there are solutions that will protect one’s entire home rather than a single room or device.

House surge protectors are the only means by which to truly protect all electrical devices within the home from power spikes due to lightning strikes.

Locating the best device for one’s home wiring will be an investment that can potentially save individuals thousands of dollars in damage in an instant, along with safeguarding their electronics from potential damage.