PRACTICAL WAYS TO Prevent Catastrophic Property Loss www.topfloorinsurance.com
PRACTICAL WAYS TO Prevent Catastrophic Property Loss Your apartment community is not only an investment for you, but, for your tenants, is their home. Severe damage to your apartment community, due to a catastrophic loss can be devastating for all those involved. A catastrophe, can either be natural disasters or have a manmade cause such as a fire or vandalism. Natural disaster may be outside of your control, but how you prepare for them and ready your apartment community can mean the difference between a small damage claim and a complete property loss. Last year alone, $16.1 billion of property was damaged due to natural disasters including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and severe thunderstorms. Since 2005, the amount of property damage to residential communities due to storms has consistently increased, year over year by 5-7%. 1 Manmade disasters can be prevented and reduce the risk of having to submit an insurance claim or repair property damage. With tenant regulations and maintenance requirements, you can take active steps to keep the threat of catastrophic property loss to a minimum. There is no better time than the present to begin mitigating the inevitable risk that both natural and manmade disasters pose, to ensure your tenants are safe and your property is protected. The apartment community specialists at Top Floor Insurance recommend implementing these top best practices to prevent catastrophic property loss.
1 Reducing fire risks To best prevent the risk of a fire, you should consider: PROHIBITING BALCONY GRILLING - as the summer months approach, it is best practice to limit the use of grills on balconies. You may consider installing grills around your apartment community and encouraging tenants to use these grills instead of a personal grill in or directly outside of their apartment. Unattended grills can spark a fire that can quickly spread throughout the entire apartment building. INSTALLING FIRESTOPS - these devices can be installed on stove tops to prevent a fire from sparking and spreading. Educating tenants on the proper use of them would also be advised to ensure they are reducing the risk of fire as much as possible. IMPLEMENTING INDOOR SMOKING POLICIES - it is estimated that, on average, 7,600 fires are started each year because of a lit cigarette. This may account for less than 2% of all fire sources, but translates to $327 million in property damage. 2 The good news is, fires started by cigarettes are 100% preventable. Implementing and enforcing no indoor smoking or setting up designated outdoor smoking areas are practical ways to mitigate this fire risk. This helps to contain the possible risk of fires being started from tenants by improperly disposing of cigarettes. 3
2 Preventing water damage To best prevent the risk of catastrophic water damage, you should consider: INSTALLING FOUNDATION FLOOD VENTS - these help to wet-proof your apartment community buildings. This is often a more cost effective alternative to raise basement walls. To be the most efficient, be sure to install vents on different walls throughout the lower levels of your buildings. As an example, for every 1,000 square feet, you would need to install at least 7 square feet of flood vents to make this strategy the most effective. CONSISTENTLY CLEARING DOWNSPOUTS - this is especially true if you have large trees in and around your apartment community. Leaves, branches, and other debris in the gutters is a sure way to increase the risk of flooding. Inspect your gutter system, before a storm hits and make sure that water is being effectively carried away from buildings. USING DRY PROOFING METHODS - applying waterproofing coatings and sealings can be a cost effective way to prevent large scale water damage to low-lying areas. Other dry proofing methods can include elevating any electrical equipment at least 3 feet off of the floor and installing waterproof structures around circuit/electrical breakers.
3 Mitigating the risk of violent crime or vandalism To best prevent the risk of violent crime or vandalism, you should consider: INSTALLING STRATEGIC LIGHTING - to best prevent the crime and vandalism, you should install strategic lighting in and around buildings and parking structures. Studies have found that brighter lighting can deter violent and property crimes that could cause insurance liabilities and/or property damage. In fact, crime decreases by 21% in areas where street lights, garage lighting, and exterior building lighting is used. 4 Installing lights in and around your apartment community can only help prevent crime and vandalism if they are well maintained. Studies assert that when lighting is not maintained, and allowed to burn out, violent crime rates significantly spike, with some communities reporting up to a 130% increase in crime. 5
Conclusion With over 25+ years of apartment community insurance expertise, Top Floor Insurance, is committed to keeping property owners informed. Implementing the mentioned best practices can help to safeguard your property from catastrophic loss. By using these strategies, apartment community owners, like you, have been able to reduce their insurance premiums, saving them BIG money each year. We know the importance of protecting your property investment and we can help you with all of your insurance needs. At Top Floor Insurance, we specialize in apartment community insurance - that is all we do, period. If you are unsure how much catastrophic property loss coverage your current policy has, or if you d like to discuss more ways that you can protect your apartment community, then feel free to call us at 404-266-3218 - with no obligation to buy our insurance products! Call 404-266-3218 www.topfloorinsurance.com 1 http://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/catastrophes-us 2 https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v13i6.pdf 3 https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v13i6.pdf 4 http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/news_/improved_street_lighting_reduce_crime.php 5 http://www.citylab.com/housing/2014/02/street-lights-and-crime-seemingly-endless-debate/8359/