For many of us, winter weather has arrived or is on its way. As always, our customers’ safety is top of mind. Here are some important practical steps you can take to help protect your property during extreme cold weather.

Pipe Bursts

Ensuring adequate heat and monitoring facilities are important steps. Our research indicates frozen pipes cause some of the most common and costliest cold weather claims (>$18K, on average). Not surprisingly, the risk of pipe bursts can increase when businesses are closed or unoccupied (e.g., due to storm closings). From schools whose students are out on break (and leave windows open) to businesses that close for a weekend, we’ve seen some very disruptive losses when pipes freeze and water flows – sometimes for days before being noticed.

Slip & Falls

Slip and fall accidents can be very impactful to your business, whether they involve your employees or someone else legally on your premises. Each year these accidents result in thousands of workers’ compensation or third party liability claims. In fact, slip and falls account for approximately 1/3 of our workers’ compensation and general liability claims. This risk can increase substantially with winter weather. What can you do to protect your employees and customers and avoid these claims? Some important steps are:

•Treat all exterior areas where you expect to have pedestrian and/or vehicle traffic. Once and done is not sufficient — inspect and treat areas of potential hazard frequently. •Make certain the property has ample lighting during the shorter daylight hours of winter.

Original article from: The Hartford