Your home is your safe space, which is why you need to actively protect it from unwanted criminals and individuals. The following advice can help you secure the perimeter of your property and protect you against burglary! Most importantly, the expert advice below ensures that your home still qualifies for any insurance policies without voiding them.
1. Install An Alarm System
If security is at the top of your list, nothing means business as much as installing a security or an alarm system. Not only does it make the perimeter of your home safer, but it could help reduce your insurance premiums. Of course, in order for your alarm system to work as intended, you need to ensure that it’s activated and fully functional in the first place.
Make it a point to always set your alarm when exiting your home or heading off to bed. If you tend to forget simple tasks, consider writing a note to yourself so you won’t forget to set your alarm before bedtime.
2. Enhance Your Door Locks
Did you know that installing new and more efficient locks may also help reduce your insurance premiums? Part of the reason is that insurance companies will acknowledge that your home is safer against intruders. Of course, bear in mind that most burglars are unscrupulous professionals, and as such, they’re well acquainted with most locks and understand how to tamper with them. Any locks installed on your property should always be done by professional locksmiths.
Make sure to only check out professional and licensed locksmiths in your area. Those that meet all of the local guidelines and regulations will also register their names with recognizable associations.
3. Enhance Window Security
You can further decrease insurance premiums by proving that your home is doubly secure thanks to windows with additional security features. This entails locking your windows regularly before exiting the premises. Depending on your insurance company, they may have stringent guidelines on what types of window locks or security measures they require for saving money on their premiums.
Even if the weather is nice, avoid leaving your windows open as an entry point for burglars at nighttime. It’s also important to check the condition and how well your windows are fitted in their frames regularly to ensure that they will hold up.
4. Hide Valuable Objects
Burglars are looking to cash in on your valuables such as jewelry, art, and tech gadgets. Make sure to keep them hidden and away from prying eyes where they’re twice as likely to become targets. For extremely valuable objects such as rare coins or jewelry, have a professional locksmith install a safe where you can store them!
Always keep your car keys hidden as well as many criminals tend to reach for those first. Make sure that your keys aren’t kept near your door as some burglars never even enter your home to claim them. They do something known as letterbox fishing where a metal rod with a magnet is inserted through the letterbox in order to gain access to your keys.
5. Avoid Common Hiding Places For Keys
Yes, we all need our spare keys, but never leave them in an obvious spot underneath your doormat. Whether near your front door or underneath your favorite garden statue, neither of these places offers adequate protection against burglars looking to enter your home. What’s more, some insurance companies may decline your forced entry insurance claim if you were at fault for not hiding your keys well.
6. Install Smart Lighting Options
As burglars require the shroud of darkness for discretion, you can nip this problem in the bud by installing lights that are motion sensor activated. For an even more affordable option, choose low-energy lighting solutions that sporadically turn on and off. Having lighting that senses movement or turns on automatically will make it appear as though you’re home, even when you’re not
7. Don’t Make Your Departure Obvious
Burglars are twice as likely to target homes where the owners are very clearly away on vacation. If you’re going for a holiday, make sure you don’t make it obviously known to outsiders. Protect your home while you are away with aluminium gates as an extra layer of protection.
It all starts with canceling subscriptions and deliveries that may pile up at your door signaling your absence. Also ask someone you trust to check in on your home and grab your mail that arrives while you’re not around. Though you may love sharing all aspects of your life on social media, resist the urge to do so. Posting obvious photos of you and your family lounging on a foreign beach will signal to potential criminals that you’re away from home. It’s important not to make your departure time or anything regarding it public because it will increase your chances of being a target for a crime.
