A new Allstate Holiday Home Hazards survey showed most people don’t take many precautions at this time of year.
From Thanksgiving through the New Year, this hectic time of preparing for guests, decorating, cooking and entertaining (all on top of our everyday lives) brings about an increase in the number of insurance claims received from insurers.
That said, a recent survey has shown that people don’t seem to be giving priority to taking precautions.
A new poll released by Allstate has shown that once Thanksgiving dinner is done, 75 percent of Americans will already be getting started on their holiday shopping. That said, it also pointed out that as important as finding the perfect Christmas gifts have become to the time spanning from then through December 24, what is not being seen as all that important are the efforts to protect their homes and possessions and prevent the need to have to file insurance claims. There are simple steps that people could be taking that would make all the difference in reducing the risk of theft, fire and weather damage, but they are slipping to the bottom of the to-do lists.
The insurance claims survey showed that doors are still being unlocked and packages are visible in cars or by windows.
The Allstate survey findings showed that even though 71 percent of adults do acknowledge that there is a heightened risk of incidents in their homes throughout the holiday season, only 37 percent say that they take extra care to protect their possessions. Doors are left unlocked, packages are placed in locations where they are visible, candles are left unattended, people fall asleep with the stove on, or with a fire still burning.
This survey also determined that when people decorate their homes, they don’t always pay attention to safety warnings, despite the fact that they are familiar with them. Allstate is hopeful that pointing these issues out will help to make give them greater importance among Americans, this year.
According to the Allstate senior vice president of property products, Terri Dalenta, “Shopping season is in full swing, and it’s easy to let holiday cheer cloud our better judgment when buying and handling our purchases.” Dalenta added that the goal of the company is to help to prevent problems from happening in the first place, as a hazard-free holiday is safer, happier, and keeps the need for insurance claims to a minimum.
