Can Your Window Treatments Effect Your Homeowner's Insurance

Copyright (c) 2010 James Parrish

A young Loudoun, Virginia boy is expected to make full recovery after falling from a third story window earlier this week, despite his injuries initially being described as Critical.

The six-year-old leaned against a window screen while visiting a friend's house. His weight pushed the screen out of the window frame and the child fell through the window into the bushes below.

He was then airlifted to INOVA Fairfax Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. The incident has been ruled an accident by the Loudoun County Sheriff's office.

While falling through an upstairs window may seem to be an isolated type of incident, similar accidents have happened in Loudoun recently, most notably in April. Fortunately, in that case (a 2-year-old fell through a 2nd floor window, again by leaning on the screen), the child only suffered minor injuries.

Accidents happen. But you need to be careful leaving windows open in the home, especially if there are children present.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that in the US, about 12 children under the age of 10 die each year, and over 4,000 are treated in the hospital for window-related fall injuries (that doesn't even take into account accidents caused by window coverings).

When it comes to windows, keep the following things in mind:

1. Screens are not made to support human weight. Even a very small child—they're meant to keep bugs out, not people in.

2. Supervise children closely. Do not allow them to play near windows—even if the window is closed. Keep in mind that window glass isn't usually made to support the weight of a person either.

3. As a last-ditch effort, consider installing landscaping under windows to break potential falls.

4. Don't serve alcoholic beverages too close to windows. Grown-ups fall, too.

5. If you have children living in your home, or own rental properties, consider installing a window guard.

6. Remember, even if you don't have children, you are likely responsible for any accidents that happen in your home. While most homeowner's insurance policies will cover these kinds of accidents, the claims process can be long and tricky. Not to mention that insurance adjustors can be difficult to deal with (even going so far as to hide evidence in some cases) and your premiums will likely skyrocket.

It's best to take the basic precautions to prevent these kinds of things from happening in the first place.