A washing machine hose holds about 70 pounds of pressure and if it fails, it can displace an average of 650 gallons of water per hour. That means if you are away from your home for a weekend and a hose bursts, you may open the door to nearly 31,000 gallons of water in your home. (Imagine a 20’ x 40’ in-ground pool worth of water in your home!) The water can cause damage to floors, drywall, and personal items. It may even displace you from your home for an extended period.

Cause for Failure

The wear on rubber hoses is due to the sudden change in water pressure each time the washer’s automatic solenoid valve abruptly shuts off the water flow. That change in pressure causes the hose to balloon out and then retract, weakening the hose a little each cycle. Most washing machine manufacturers even have warning labels in the manual that state “TURN FAUCETS OFF WHEN WASHER IS NOT IN USE” and states that hoses are not rated for continuous water pressure.

How to Protect Your Home

• Conduct a monthly inspection of the hot and cold washing machine lines. Look for cracks, bulging spots, and wet areas.
• Replace supply hoses every three to five years.
• If possible, install the washing machine in the basement or the first floor of your home.
• If you are away from your home for several days, turn off the valves to the washing machine.
• Consider replacing rubber hoses with steel braided hoses.

By The Numbers

The average claim for State Farm was $10,200 but that amount can very state-to-state.

On April 26, while Mike was away with the Fire Department to help others, his own home was in the path of an approaching wildfire. The Flag Fire, fueled by dense timber and dry flashy fuels, tore through the Hualapai Mountains toward Mike’s home. As ember showers and spot fires erupted ahead of the fire front, which advanced to within 450 feet his property, thanks to a new service provided by State Farm®, his property was saved from wildfire.

On April 1, a complimentary Wildfire Response service was added to all non-tenant homeowners policies in Arizona at no cost to State Farm customers (this service was also added in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington).

Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc., the largest wildfire protection service provider, has been providing firefighting services in 20 states and has monitored over 58,000 wildfires since 2013. 

During an active wildfire, if Wildfire Defense determines a home insured by State Farm is at risk, they will deploy a team that will take proactive counter-measures to protect a policyholder’s property.

This team will determine appropriate suppression and mitigation methods that may include:

• Installing temporary sprinkler systems
• Monitoring and extinguishing hotspots
• Removal of combustible materials from around the house (like pine needles, wood furniture, dry brush)
• Covering vents, and closing of doors and windows to keep sparks and embers out

“When we arrived on scene,” Wildfire Defense CEO David Torgerson said, “we noticed several fire risks on the property. A lot of vegetation and timber as well as combustible materials near the home.

“Windy conditions contributed to the spread of the fire and put the home in immediate danger. Our resources were able to suppress the flames and hotspots 25-50 feet from the home and we cold-trailed the property to ensure all residual heat was fully extinguished.”

“We are so grateful for this added benefit on our State Farm policy,” Mike Britt said. “I was gone with the fire department and they arrived on scene to make sure my home and property were protected.”

The Wildfire Defense service is not meant to replace existing wildfire preparation efforts. State Farm encourages customers to always be prepared for the possibility of a catastrophe. Customers living in wildfire- prone areas are encouraged to take appropriate steps to reduce the chance of fire damage, including creating defensible space and reducing flammable vegetation near structures.

Time to prepare is now

Recent wildfire statistics show that proactive mitigation efforts prior to a fire event are critical before evacuation warnings or orders are issued by authorities.

This is why, even with this new benefit in place, State Farm encourages residents to be proactive, to adopt mitigation measures for their properties, and to always be prepared for the possibility of an emergency or catastrophe.

As the weather becomes hot and dry, here are easy and inexpensive ways to create a defensible space around your property:

• Remove dead shrubs, dried grass, fallen branches and dried leaves within 5 feet (and as much as 100 feet) around your property.
• Keep your roof and gutters clear of debris, such as leaves or pine needles, and remove overhanging branches.
• Keep grass and weeds mowed.
• Fill five feet around the base of the structure(s) with fire resistant plants or materials, such as gravel.

To put it in perspective, in 2019 State Farm received around 6,000 claims from named storms, totaling approximately $26 million. In 2020, claims filed neared 163,000 and exceeded $1.9 billion in cost.

Total Claims Paid | Home & Auto

1. Louisiana $1.3 billion
2. Alabama $165 million
3. Georgia $94 million
4. New York $64 million
5. Texas $45 million

Hurricanes cause destruction to homes, communities, and lives. It is important to plan and prepare best you can for hurricane season with an evacuation plan, updating insurance documents, and ready-to-go emergency kits.

• How to create a home inventory
• Preparing for a hurricane
• FAQs following a hurricane

State Farm® is using technology to help homeowners better prepare and recover from the devastating impact of wildfires. These new tech tools - a sensor, an app, and your smartphone - places the power of preparation in the palm of consumers’ hands. Currently, 4.5 million U.S. homes are identified as being at high risk of wildfire. This makes the technology and wildfire preparation tools even more critical.

Ting

Ting is a plug-in device and smartphone app produced by Whisker Labs, a company specializing in fire safety using advanced technology to monitor electrical systems in the home and on the electrical utility grid.

The device is the size of a plug-in night light and can offer protection from electrical fires. Once plugged into a home electrical outlet, Ting is on the lookout for unique signals that are indicative of an electrical problem that could lead to a home fire. These signals can originate from loose connections, damaged wires or faulty devices and appliances, or from faults on the grid. If Ting detects anything unusual, it sends a notification to the customer’s mobile phone while also notifying the Whisker Labs’ monitoring center.

Electrical fires are responsible for originating 13% of all U.S. home fires, with an annual cost of $1.3 billion (National Fire Protection Association 2019 Survey). That’s an alarming statistic. While Ting can help detect electrical fire hazards in the home, it can also help detect wildfire ignition risks from the grid. The device can detect signals from malfunctions or fluctuations on the grid that indicate the risk of a fault or larger arcing event. A common example is electrical transformers that are typically installed outside the home to reduce the high-voltage supply from the grid into the low-voltage needed for a residence. When transformers work well, we don’t notice them. It’s a different story when they begin to experience issues and fail to operate correctly, or simply fail outright (Ting). These faults can cause safety issues, fire hazards, and damage to devices inside your home or produce sparks that could trigger a wildfire and potentially put other structures at risk.

Last summer, Whisker Labs helped launch a significant distribution program in partnership with State Farm. Eligible State Farm customers in Arizona, California, and Texas received Ting for free by simply enrolling online. In May, Whisker Labs announced 40,000 Ting devices had been distributed. Expansion to more customers in more states is planned in 2021.

IBHS Wildfire Ready App

Living in the era of apps, it is logical that the second new tool in a homeowners’ wildfire mitigation toolbox comes in app form. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is one of the leading sources in the science of catastrophes. Leveraging their latest research, the goal of their new Wildfire Ready Virtual app is to help homeowners prepare their homes for a wildfire. The app uses augmented reality so that once you point your smartphone at your home, you can “see” the weak points. It also walks you through specific do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, including remodeling tips to make your home more fire resistant.

State Farm participated in the development of this app that you can download and try for yourself anytime (download for Apple or Android phones). Motivated to do even more? Check these extra wildfire protection tips in the IBHS Wildfire Ready Guide.

Home inventory

Unfortunately, there will be instances where despite preparation efforts, a wildfire may destroy your home. Recovering from such a devastating event is difficult but technology can help. This is where the third tech tool, your smartphone, takes center stage. A home inventory can show visual proof of what was in your home before it was damaged or destroyed. To this effect, the storytelling capabilities of today’s smartphones are a great ally.

A simple way to do a home inventory is to walk through each room of your home, taking pictures and videos of everything in it. Don’t forget to also step outside and take images of the structure and everything around it.

Let me introduce you to Mary. In this video she tells us the story of losing her home to a wildfire in Santa Barbara. No one better than her and her agent, Irene, to give us a home inventory 101.

So switch on these tech tools and take your wildfire safety to a whole new level.

The posts went live March 2 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Combined, the posts received nearly 107 thousand likes. WeRateDogs has over 11 million combined social media followers.

One of the featured dogs is Tavi, a Canine Companions for Independence^® puppy, sponsored by State Farm. A potential future service dog, Tavi is being raised by State Farm employees Robin and Tony Bird.

Benefits of Pet Medical Insurance

For Illinois State Farm agent Axel Jimenez, talking about pets comes naturally. “My agency is BIG on keeping updated on household members. Asking about pets is a very easy step since we view fur babies as household members. Showing customers that we care about everyone in their family helps with relationship building and pet medical is a great product to offer pet parents.”

Pet medical insurance is an important part of a financial plan to help prepare for unexpected illness or injury. The last thing any pet owner wants to decide is whether they can afford to treat their beloved dog or cat for illness or injury. Medical insurance for pets makes the decision easier, allowing pet owners to focus on care and not cost.

Since 2018, State Farm has offered medical insurance for pets through Trupanion, first piloting the product in six states before expanding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2020. Pet owners can sign up for medical insurance by visiting the State Farm website at www.statefarm.com/insurance/pet or by contacting an authorized State Farm agent.

Note: Pet owners in AR, SC, RI, and MA can sign-up for a pet medical policy online only at this time.

Why Pet Medical Insurance Matters

Agent Axel Jimenez shares his own story of the importance of pet medical insurance and how it helped his family and his dog, Archie.

Arson dogs are trained to work with a human handler and find evidence at fire scenes. The dogs are searching for accelerants such as gas, oil or fuel used to start fires. State Farm is the only company in North America that provides funding for the training of arson dog teams.

The State Farm Arson Dog Program is available to fire departments and law enforcement agencies across the United States. Since its beginning in 1993, the program has placed more than 425 dogs in 46 states, three Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia.

Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to solve, as the evidence literally burns up. Insurance fraud causes billions of dollars in damage each year. In fact, many police and fire departments are seeing an increase in suspicious fires because of business closures, financial challenges and social disruption.

"Fire investigators should have every tool possible to combat this deadly crime," said Heather Paul, State Farm Arson Dog Program Coordinator. “These dogs help fire investigators to do their job. Arson dog teams can quickly locate evidence of accelerants such as gasoline or fuel used to start a fire.”

Meeting and training with a new best friend

All of the dogs are Labrador retrievers and come from animal rescues or disability assistance programs. The dogs are trained months before they meet their human handler and must work for every meal. When the dog smells fuel, they sit down and point with their nose. Their “reward” is a handful of dog food and praise. They can locate accelerants quickly, even if it is buried under debris.

Canine handlers are police detectives or fire investigators. The training class is four weeks long and the handlers know it will be intense. Over the four weeks, the handler and dog will repeat training drills multiple times a day. Food reward dogs only eat from the hand of their handler so these training drills will be repeated multiple times a day for the life until the dog retires.

Following a month of classes and drills, the arson dog teams are tested and certified by the Maine State Police. Once certified, the teams travel back to their communities to begin investigating fires. The dogs live in the home of their handler and they retire in the home of their handler. For the men and women training in the program, working with a dog is a career highlight.

Congratulations to the newly certified teams in Class No. 52!

1. Fire Chief Billy Dillon & K-9 Piper - Howe Springs Fire Rescue (Florence, SC)
2. Special Agent Michael Kuban & K-9 Phantom - Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (Springfield, IL)
3. Special Agent Kenny Arnold & K-9 Gunny - Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (Springfield, IL)
4. Special Agent Jeff Pride and K-9 PJ - Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (Springfield, IL)
5. Captain Stephanie Schofield & K-9 Jennifer - Rawlins Fire Department (Rawlins, WY)
6. Fire Inspector John Neeb & K-9 Mika - West Fargo Fire Department (West Fargo, ND)
7. Fire Investigator Thomas Cantola & K-9 Maya - Girard Fire Department (Girard, OH)
8. Fire Investigator Brian Acors & K-9 Erny - Richmond Fire Department (Richmond, VA)
9. Arson Investigator Darren Jurado & K-9 Brownie - Compton Fire Department (Compton, CA)
10. Fire Investigator Lee Maness & K-9 Vinny - Cobb County Fire and EMS (Marietta, GA)
11. Detective Michael Douglas K-9 Ruthie - State of Florida, Division of Investigative & Forensic Services (Tampa, FL)
12. Detective Cody McIntyre & K-9 Rico - State of Florida, Division of Investigative & Forensic Services (Tallahassee, FL)
13. Firefighter Brent Autry & K-9 Tony - Milan Fire Department (Milan, TN)
14. Assistant Fire Chief Jim Kanavy & K-9 Mikey - Scott County Fire Department (Georgetown, KY)

Arson Dog Calendar

Each of this year's class of K-9 crime-fighters is featured on one of the calendar pages below. Click to download.

In the News:

• West Fargo Pioneer: Fire corner: Welcoming Mika to the team (09/30/20)