For Families and Caregivers

Keeping Your Loved One Safe

When a parent or an older loved one lives alone, you worry--especially when you are in another city or state. It’s hard to tell if they are safe. To help you, ask yourself and your loved one the following questions:

• Do they understand how to leave home if necessary? Know where the door is and how to exit the building?
• Do they know to dial 911 in an emergency?
• Do they have frequent medical emergencies?
• Do they know where their medication is and how to take it?
• Can they get to the bathroom and use the toilet on their own?

Although you can use these questions to guide you, only you, other family and loved ones and your older relative can decide if he or she needs to move. Talking this through is hard. Even harder is moving your older loved one to a new home if they are unsafe living alone.

Through this change, make sure your loved one is comfortable. Are their surroundings pleasant? Are they easily accessible? Is there both privacy and socialization? Also, make their surroundings familiar. Help them establish a new routine in their new home. Help them adjust by finding out about events, club, shops, and restaurants near their new home.

More Help

Eldercare offers these guidelines on how to tell if your older relative is unsafe living alone.

Learn more about the different types of home insurance on the Beehive. Learn what they do and what you need to protect you and your home.

Deciding how much insurance to buy is hard. The Beehive is here to help. A decision on how much insurance to buy is just a click away!

There are many things that affect the cost of your home insurance. To find out what they are, visit our About Home Insurance page.

Many insurance companies offer older adults discounts on home insurance. The Savings and Seniors section has a list of what they are.

Taking a yearly home inventory can help you keep track of your possessions and the cost of replacing them.