When you think of home insurance losses, you probably don’t think much about lightning strikes. But out here in Texas especially, we do tend to see a fair amount of claims having to do with lightning damage. In fact, Texas was second only to Georgia in the number of paid claims having to do with lightning losses in 2013. And although Georgia had significantly more claims (11,184 versus 6,419), claims in Texas were far more costly ($8,436 per claim versus $5,007).
One of the biggest dangers associated with lightning is its aptitude to start fires. Across the United States, lightning fires cause $451 million in direct damages each year! June, July and August tend to account for the most fire related incidents.
While August tends to be the tail end of lightning season, we think that it is better late than never to help you decrease your risk of loss due to lightning strikes. Here are a few tips to make your home a safer place during a thunderstorm:
- Remove dead or rotting trees and branches from your yard.
- Secure any outdoor objects that are likely to be blown about by the wind.
- If your home has shutters installed, shutter your windows during a storm. Don’t have shutters? Just shut the window shades, blinds or curtains.
- Unplug any and all electronic equipment in your home. As you could have probably guessed on your own, those wires are the perfect conduits for electricity, which makes power surges during thunderstorms common. If you don’t want your computer or cell phone fried, be sure to unplug it!
- Utilize surge protectors. While they might not fully protect your electronics, they give you a better shot at not losing them when lightning strikes.
- Protect your home with Home Insurance from Texan Insurance!