Before a trip should I turn off the water of my house?

Most of the home insurance companies will no longer cover damage that results from broken water pipes in the house. If my house was going to be left unattended with the heat turned off, then I would drain the pipes.

It may be moderately wasteful but with exterior pipes a little bit of water dripping out will keep the water in the exposed pipe from getting cold enough to freeze, should you not drain the water from your pipes.