Moving into your first home? 5 ways to stay connected and protected

Contact your current service providers and have the utilities in your old apartment disconnected. Then, you’ll need to have water, gas, and electricity working in your new home when you move in. Make sure you know where all the shut-off valves are, in case you need to turn them off for any reason. Water damage is one of the most common claims we see, so you may even want to consider installing a water leak detection system in your home, to ensure that if one of your pipes springs a leak, you’ll know about it and can shut it down before it causes damage.

It’s great that you got the keys from the previous owner, but that’s really not enough to ensure your home’s security. Have all of the locks changed in your home, to make sure you have the only keys. Now that you’re in a home, you may also want to consider installing a home security system to keep your home secure when you’re away. Having a home security system is a great way to deter burglars from trying to break into your home.

These days, we connect with friends, family, and a myriad of service providers and product manufacturers online. So, your internet connect is probably one of the first things you’ll set up in your new home. Make sure your connection is secure, by using passwords that cannot be easily guessed. You may also want to consider adding cyber insurance, if your homeowner’s policy doesn’t already include it. Cyber protection can help stop cybercrime before it happens (identity theft, malware intrusion, ransomware threat, etc.) and help you prepare for the consequences if it does.

Once you forward your mail, the U.S. Post Office will automatically notify some of your contacts. However, it’s important that you give your new address to all of those who need it – not only friends and family, but banks, healthcare providers, credit card companies, and insurance providers. If you do banking online or use company apps to do business of any kind, you’ll also want to change your information there as well.

You may have to set up homeowner’s insurance as part of your mortgage process. If not, make sure you get homeowner’s coverage for your house, any other buildings, and the contents within them. Don’t forget to transfer your car insurance to your new address as well – and if you have your auto insurance with a different provider, you may want to consider putting it with the same insurer as your home, to take advantage of multi-policy discounts.