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Five Ways to Keep Melting Snow Out of Your Basement This Spring

home downspout in spring

Spring’s sunshine and warmer temperatures quickly melt piles of snow and ice, which is great but…where does all that water go? It goes down the path of least resistance, which is why it’s important to inspect your downspouts, window wells, basement, garage, and sump pump to prevent melting ice and snow from entering your home.

Our reinsurance company Grinnell Re has information to help keep melting snow out of your basement.

  1. Check your downspouts
    Where do your downspouts drain? If they drain just beyond the foundation wall, consider purchasing some extensions so they drain 5 to 6 feet away from your home’s foundation instead of saturating the soil near the house or entering window wells and cracks. Also check the downspout for clogs that may prevent water from flowing through the spout.
  2. Look at the foundation
    Where do utility lines enter the foundation? Make certain all entry points are properly sealed with caulk. Also check for cracks on the wall and floor where water may seep into the basement.
  3. Seal window wells
    Consider installing tightly sealed covers over window wells so water doesn’t accumulate in the window well. The perimeter of those windows should be tightly caulked and sealed. Do not seal basement windows used as emergency egress points.
  4. Check your garage door
    Make sure the garage door closes tightly against the concrete floor of the garage. Are the seals around the door and at the bottom in good condition? Look for cracking or dry rot. That’s a good indication that the seals should be replaced.
  5. Grade your soil
    To prevent basement and garage flooding next spring, place soil around your home’s foundation this summer. Properly grading the soil will help to divert water from the foundation.

IF WATER ENTERS YOUR GARAGE OR BASEMENT

In spite of your efforts to caulk cracks and replace door seals, you may still have water enter your garage or basement. The best way to prevent that water from damaging your home is to have a sump pump in good working condition.

Test the pump before you need it to make sure the battery backup is fully charged.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Forward Mutual if you have questions regarding water prevention or damage. Also follow Grinnell’s Front Porch blog for more great information on keeping your home and your family safe (and dry).

This article is reprinted with permission from Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company. The information included was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however Forward Mutual, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company and its employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with any training, materials, suggestions or information provided. It is the user’s responsibility to confirm compliance with any applicable local, state or federal regulations. Information obtained from or via Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company should not be used as the basis for legal advice or other advice, but should be confirmed with alternative sources.

Our February Agency: D.A. Brown

Kelly Jacobson, licensed agent for D.A. Brown Insurance Services LLCForward Mutual is proud to feature D.A. Brown Insurance Services LLC as its February agency of the month. Locally owned by Dean A. Brown, this service-oriented agency offers a personal line of auto, home and farm coverages to the Fort Atkinson and surrounding communities. They also provide coverage for businesses.

“I use Forward Mutual whenever I can,” says licensed agent Kelly Jacobson, who offers Forward Mutual home and farm insurance to her D.A. Brown clients. “We have a very good and close working relationship. I work with Sarah (Mueller) and she is always on top of everything.”

Are you looking for home or farm insurance in the Fort Atkinson area? Call Kelly Jacobson at 920-563-5850 and learn how a Forward Mutual policy can protect your property.

By the Minutes: How a Major Disaster Affected Extended Coverage and Reinsurance

Newspaper clippings of 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado, Forward Mutual Insurance Company

By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT

In 1937 Wisconsin’s state law authorized mutuals the ability to write supplemental coverages for smoke, theft, and similar disasters, but it wasn’t until 1951 that it authorized extended coverage. Along with extended—also known as wind coverage—came the new requirement of reinsurance, where another insurance company takes on all or part of the risk covered under a policy issued by another insurance company in consideration of a premium payment. In 1951, the state law determined wind coverage had to either be 100% reinsured or the mutual’s wind losses must be capped at $2.50 per thousand of wind insurance in force. [Read more…] about By the Minutes: How a Major Disaster Affected Extended Coverage and Reinsurance

By the Minutes: Our Annual Meetings Over the Years

A glass of beer and a perfect hand in Sheepshead.

By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT

I started looking at the histories of Watertown Mutual Insurance Company and Ixonia Mutual Insurance Company last year when Forward Mutual moved the location of its annual meeting.

Since 1875, Ixonia Mutual (now Forward Mutual) has held its annual meetings in four different locations. Initially, the meetings were held at Erickson Hall on Marietta Avenue (which changed names several times). In 1925, the meetings were relocated to the newly built Ixonia Town Hall. In 1949, they were relocated to the newly built Ixonia Fireman’s Hall, where they were held for 69 years. Last year, Forward Mutual once again held its annual meeting in the Ixonia Town Hall, now located at W1195 Marietta Avenue (formerly Ixonia Bank). [Read more…] about By the Minutes: Our Annual Meetings Over the Years

Forward Agency Earns Highest in New Business

Service Insurance Agency, Waterloo, Wisconsin

Service Insurance Agency recently won Grinnell’s new business incentive award. From left, Bill Gallagher, Grinnell Mutual sales director; Trent Haldiman, Service Insurance Agency; Tim Haldiman, Service Insurance Agency; and Adam Hade, Grinnell Mutual sales manager.

Forward Mutual is proud to announce Service Insurance Agency, of Waterloo, Wis., was recently presented with Grinnell Mutual’s new business incentive award. Service Insurance Agency is one of 18 independent agencies carrying Forward Mutual insurance products.

The award, offered by Forward’s reinsurer and partner, Grinnell Mutual, was an incentive to agents for writing new private passenger auto business. First prize, for the highest number of new policies written, was an Apple iWatch. Also, all auto advertisements (approved by Grinnell Mutual) qualified for 100 percent co-op during the incentive period.

Forward Mutual Insurance Company offers an auto/home discount with their homeowner and farm product lines. Congratulations to Trent and Tim for their win and for all their new business!

By the Minutes: A Year of Neighbor Helping Neighbor: 1885

Jefferson County, WI sawmill

This photo is used with permission from the book Heritage of Ixonia, Vol 1, and is of a sawmill owned by O.H. Wills and Mr. Gulliskson. It likely is similar to the Piper Gibb & Co. mill which was lost by fire in 1885. Local sawmills were necessary providers of lumber for the construction of homes and barns.

By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT

As much as we enjoy our Wisconsin summers, we all know the improbability of the weather. Thunderstorms, lightning, and even tornados are events we Midwesterners unfortunately must deal with. For the insurance industry, these often mean mass damage and expensive payouts. In the 1880s, neither Ixonia Mutual Fire Insurance Company or Watertown Mutual Fire Insurance Company offered coverage for storm damage. But they knew the difficulties of large payouts due to the ravages of fire. Last month, we learned how in 1879 Ixonia Mutual used an assessment to help finance a large payout. In 1885, the company was once again challenged with a series of losses, each of them beyond the capabilities of the company’s treasury. [Read more…] about By the Minutes: A Year of Neighbor Helping Neighbor: 1885