CNS offers advice on protecting yourself, your home and business during a wildfire

July 13, 2010 – Home, auto and business insurer CNS, part of the RSA Canada group, offers simple precautions that can help to protect your family and your home from wildfires. Have a plan in place for your family should wildfires threaten your home. Below are a number of tips to help protect your home. If you have questions about your policy or would like more information, contact your insurance broker.

It's most important that you protect yourself and your family first:

• IMPORTANT - follow the directions of local authorities, and follow evacuation orders if given. Do not deviate from the evacuation plan.
• Ensure emergency vehicles have access to your home by keeping fire lanes clear and driveways accessible
• If you have access to a cell phone, call your family members to tell them your whereabouts. Leave your cell phone turned on so that people can reach you.
• Put together a disaster safety kit, which should include a carry case for your pet and appropriate supplies
• Ensure that you have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home and that their batteries are working
• Place a fire extinguisher on each floor of your home
• Avoid flammable curtains on your windows - opt for metal blinds
• Consider installing fire shutters or screens that can be quickly placed over windows and vents should the fire move closer to your home
• Exterior windows should be double-paned and tempered glass that are non-combustible
• Screens should be corrosion resistant screens and shutters should be non-combustible
• Exterior glass doors and skylights should have double-paned, tempered glass
• Maintain access to attics, crawl spaces and under deck areas so that hot spots can quickly be identified and extinguished before they have a chance to spread

What to do if your home or business has been damaged:

• Separate damaged property from undamaged property, and prepare an inventory of what has been lost or damaged
• Take photographs of damaged property. If covered, CNS will reimburse you for the cost of the photos
• Keep receipts for any clean up costs incurred (i.e. shop vac rentals, cleaning supplies, etc.)
• Your insurance company is there to help. Contact your insurance broker or your insurance company to report any damage. If you are a CNS policyholder, you can call our Claims line directly at 1-888-267-6766.

Protecting your home or business in the future:

• Keep trees and bushes trimmed to ensure that branches are not touching your home
• For trees taller than 18 feet, prune lower branches within 6 feet of the ground. Ensure trees are 10 feet apart, and that no branches are within 10 feet of your home. Ensure that plant groupings are 20 feet apart, and that no vegetation is growing under your deck. Remove all dead and dying vegetation.
• Use fire resistant roofing materials, and ensure that branches, leaves and other debris are cleared off the roof
• Use fire resistant siding materials, and ensure that siding is at least 12mm thick and extends from the ground level to the roof line
• Wooden decks should be enclosed with a fire resistant material
• Remove any dry grass, dead or dying trees, or other debris from within 30m of your home
• Store all combustibles such as firewood, picnic tables, wood fences and boats at least 15m from any structure
• Clear combustible material within 3m of natural gas or propane tanks
• Cover chimneys with non-combustible screening with a mesh size no greater than 5mm
• Soffit vents should be no larger than maximum perforation size prescribed by local building code to prevent drafting of ashes into attic space
• Check that eaves, gutters and downspouts are made of non-combustible material and are cleaned regularly
• Maintain an emergency water supply 30m from your home

If one of these events does occur, we promise to get our customers’ lives back to normal as quickly as possible while delivering the highest level of service.

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About RSA

RSA Canada includes Roins Financial Services Limited, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, Quebec Assurance Company, Johnson Inc., Western Assurance Company, Ascentus Insurance Ltd., Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Company and is part of RSA Insurance Group plc. RSA Canada employs approximately 3,200 people and is represented by a large network of brokers across the country. In 2009, the Canadian Group wrote $1.9bn in direct premiums with assets exceeding $5.5 billion.

Internationally, RSA Insurance Group plc employs about 21,000 people and has the capability to write business in 130 countries and in 2009 its net written premiums were £6.7bn.

RSA is a trade name of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.

For more information contact:

Christine Siemiernik

Communications Consultant - RSA

Christine.siemiernik@rsagroup.ca

416-366-7600 ext. 2423