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Winter Weather Advisory: Prepare Now to Protect Your Facility

Church Risk Management
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We all want to be prepared and protected for the future. Now is the time to make certain you have your ministry facility protected against the onslaught of winter. Every year we see claims reported due to pipes freezing and bursting. These losses can be easily prevented with a few simple procedures.

Ensure outside walls are properly insulated. Without adequate insulation all other efforts will be a waste of time and money. Contact a local contractor to assess your needs and add insulation if necessary.

Set your thermostat to keep the entire building warm. In one circumstance, a well-intending church member turned off the thermostat with the goal of saving money on utility bills. The result was frozen pipes that burst and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. If your facility has different heating zones, make sure that all of them are set to an appropriate temperature.

Leave faucets on exterior walls dripping during intense cold. If you plan to be away for several days—or if you think you might not be able to reach the building due to a storm—you might consider turning off the water entirely. Also, disconnect all hoses from exterior spigots. Leaving a hose connected to an exterior spigot is a common source of frozen and, subsequently, broken pipes.

Check your building frequently. In the example mentioned above, no one stopped by the church for two days while the broken pipe spewed water. If your staff doesn’t keep regular business hours, make it a point to stop by regularly and inspect the building. Check the thermostat to ensure it is heating all of the building properly. Quickly walk around the inside to look and listen for water leaks.

AGFinancial Insurance Solutions specializes in protecting churches and ministries. We understand the unique needs and challenges of ministry operations. That is why we work proactively to keep your organization safe from loss—and we commit to restoring you as efficiently as possible if an accident does occur. For more information about how we can help, please visit www.agfinancialinsurance.com or call 866.662.8210.

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