Why a complete fire alarm system is a must when renovating your home

With more people staying at home, working from home, and even exercising and going to school at home, the rate of home renovations has increased dramatically. You may need more space, or the space you have just isn’t organized well for what you need now. Before you start renovating, though, be sure you have a complete fire alarm system in place. Here’s why:

• Fires often start in crawl spaces and attic areas. When you’re renovating a home or adding space to a house, contractors often need to go into attics or crawl spaces to install wires, plumbing, or HVAC ducts. If you have a monitored central fire alarm in place but the system does not have sensors in the crawl space or attic areas of the home, you can be at greater risk of a loss during a renovation.
  
  
• Contractors only have so much insurance. While contractors often have a certain amount of insurance coverage for these situations, it is important to contact your broker whenever you are planning renovations to your home. You may need to increase the limits on your homeowner’s policy while renovations are happening to be appropriately insured.
  
  
• There will be more people in your home. Renovations often mean tradespeople such as carpenters, electricians, roofers, and plumbers are in the house, which increases the risk to the home.

Before renovating your home, consider having a professional alarm company install a temporary but thorough central fire alarm system that protects all areas of your home with a heat sensor, including attics, garages, and crawl spaces. Once construction is complete and before you move into the space, you’ll want to replace the temporary system with a permanent central fire alarm system that includes smoke detectors in all finished living spaces and heat sensors in all attic, garage, and crawl spaces.

At Chubb, we look for ways to do more for our clients, like providing risk engineering recommendations that can help you take steps to prevent losses from happening in the first place. Chubb Risk Consultants are also available to provide guidance throughout the home assessment process, addressing alarm systems and other measures that can be used to reduce the risk of fire in your home and keep you, your family, and your new (or updated) home safe.