Heavy snow, icy driveways, and damaging winter winds can all have a major impact when it comes to your home insurance.
So what is snow good for then?
Well, plenty actually!
Here is how snow can be a benefit to the health and safety of your home.
1\ SNOW MAKES VISIBLE SHOE PRINTS
Now, not to go all CSI on you here, but snow on the ground can be very effective at creating and maintaining distinct prints.
If you avoid shoveling snow in strategic areas around your home it could help provide you with evidence that:
- A: someone was on your property (and the path they followed)
- B: who was on your property.
In the event a crime was committed police can photograph or even preserve the prints for evidence.
Just like footprints left in the flower bed soil near a window, prints left in the snow can be used to identify the shoe size and even the make/model/brand of the shoe to significantly narrow down the suspect pool and increase the chances of the perpetrator being located.
PRO TIP: Don’t wait for the police. Take pictures of the prints yourself to preserve the evidence before it melts away or gets trampled on by others.
2\ SNOW CAN BRIGHTEN UP YOUR YARD
Have you ever walked into your backyard after a snowfall during a full moon and been surprised by how bright it seemed despite being 10:00 PM?
When the moon is out after a snowfall the reflective nature of the white surface can often help illuminate the space.
Since lighting is one of the first lines of defence when it comes to burglar deterrence, this is a natural way to shine more light on your property which in turn may help keep prowlers away.
While proper lighting and motion detectors are still recommended, there’s no rule against nature pitching in for the cause as well.
3\ SNOW CAN BE PILED HIGH
People that mean to cause harm share something in common with us all, we usually take the path of least resistance.
While ground-floor windows can often be a preferred entry point for thieves, they’ll probably think twice about it if there is a large snow drift in their way.
Is there a shed on your property that’s not needed during the winter? Or perhaps an entrance to your home that’s only utilized 3 seasons during the year?
Consider purposely piling snow up close to certain unused areas to make access more difficult.
Let’s face it, thieves are like anyone else, if there is extra work involved we often tend to move along.
4\ SNOW CAN BE CRUNCHY
It’s tough being a cat burglar when every step you take makes a sound.
Especially without the white noise summer bugs can provide to cover up the crunch, these steps can easily give someone away.
While yes you should clear snow and remove ice from your walkways to keep visitors safe, there’s nothing against purposely leaving it in place throughout less commonly travelled areas of your property to help detect unwelcome visitors.
5\ MELTING SNOW FORMS ICICLES
No no, we’re not saying these icicles can make for good weapons used in home defence (well…), we’re speaking more about how they can help you pinpoint gaps in the insulation of your home.
While a loss of heat is not exactly dangerous, it can increase heating bills leaving you with less money to invest in home security (HA! See how we tied it back to keeping your home safe?).
But seriously, according to AmeriSpec Canada, “Heat loss from your home contributes to melted snow flowing down to the eave and freezing there. This creates a series of dangling icicles.”
So if you notice an uneven build-up of icicles in certain parts of your roof, this may be where you want to shore up your insulation to reduce heat loss.
Also, fewer hanging icicles = less risk of them falling and hurting someone.
6\ SNOW CAN BE CLEARED WHEN YOU’RE NOT HOME
Nothing screams “this house is left unoccupied!” louder than an untouched snowfall days after its fallen.
You can turn a negative into a positive by enlisting a trusty neighbour or snow removal company to clear your property even when you’re out of town.
This can help to trick would-be B&E artists into thinking the home is occupied.
7\ SNOW HELPS YOU MANAGE CRITTERS
Perhaps it’s a skunk carrying his night-ruining defence mechanism or maybe it’s a more ferocious beast with dangerous intentions (come inside Max!).
Heck, maybe it’s just a cute and cuddly-looking fur ball you’d like to get a picture of.
Regardless of the animal or purpose, it’s helpful to identify it by its prints and learn about its comings and goings.
This way you can either plug up access points to the property to re-direct traffic or set up a motion-activated camera.
Snow makes this job much easier, almost like a recording of the past.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
