When people picture what could go wrong at home while they are away, they usually picture a break-in. The numbers in a recent insurer poll point somewhere less dramatic: water.
One caveat on the first two figures: they come from a poll run by PEMCO, an insurer that sells in Washington and Oregon, as reported by Insurance Business. The article does not state the poll's sample size. Treat it as one insurer's view, not a national study. The burglary figure is the FBI's.
Find your water shutoff. Know where the main valve is and that you can turn it by hand. It is often where the water line enters the house, near the meter, in a basement, utility room or crawl space. Find it before you need it, and tell whoever is checking in where it is.
Ask your insurer about an empty home. Some home policies treat a home that sits empty for a long stretch differently. Whether yours does, and what counts as a long stretch, is in your policy or a short call away. We cannot tell you what your policy says.
Decide who looks in. A person who can walk through the house every few days matters more than any gadget. Give them the shutoff location, your return date and a way to reach you.
None of this needs a purchase. Away Mode has a short list of home and trip items to run through before you go.