Tom's Blog
If you become a statistic and your home is broken into, will you have the right insurance coverage to replace all of the items stolen and property damaged? Your belongings are important to you and should be protected properly. There are low cost ways to protect your home from burglars, but if your home is victimized, it is important that you have the right insurance coverage under your N.C. homeowners insurance policy to cover all of your valuables/property that may be stolen or damaged.
Additional Ways to Protect Your Home
Part two of this series provides an expansion of ways to deter the burglar and keep home security your priority. Below are some additional ways to protect your home:
Don’t Advertise That You are Away
The first thing a burglar looks for when deciding on which house to break-in is the home with no one in it. If you make your house look occupied when you’re gone, most burglars will simply pass it by. Here are some ways to do this:
- Use automatic timers to turn on lights/sound at random times
- Park your car in the closed garage (if you have one) when you are home so that when you are gone it doesn’t look suspicious
- Never leave notes to the postman or anyone on your door to indicate you are away
- Stop the newspaper/mail delivery or have a neighbor collect it
Install an Alarm System
Having an alarm system is no guarantee your home will not be burglarized, but is a deterrent for intruders.
- Install a home security system that has motion detection and also arms all windows and doors that may be entered
- Make sure the signage of your alarm system is visible to the public. If it is obvious you have a home alarm system, the burglar may move on to another home
Make it Hard to Break-In
Burglars want the quickest access possible to enter the home of choice. Below are some ways to make it harder to enter your home:
- Replace any hollow doors with solid wood doors or steel-wrapped wooden doors. Hollow doors are easy to kick in, allowing easy access
- Use deadbolts on doors
- Install a protective barrier (Plexiglas) over exterior windows and doors, making it more difficult to enter
- Never leave ladders outside that could be used for access into your home
Use Drapes/Shades or Blinds
It is important to uses drapes, shades, or blinds to conceal what is inside of your home, since many burglars will look inside to see the layout of your home and contents in your home. However, always leave blinds open just a bit. This way, the burglar won’t know for sure if they are being watched. Remember, an intruder does not wish to be seen.
Lock Up Valuables
It is recommended that anything you hold valuable (cash, rare coins, firearms, and jewelry) be kept in a locked vault or box. It may also be wise to keep this at the bank in a safety deposit box or at your attorney’s office.
Be Active in Neighborhood Watch
Make it a point to get to know your neighbors so that you can look out for one another. This way if you or your neighbor goes out of town you can have a buddy system to collect mail, packages, newspapers or just keep a visual eye out for suspicious activity.
Contact Your N.C. Independent Insurance Agent Today!
In this two part series, you have been given many helpful, low cost tips to protect your home from being burglarized. Although these are helpful hints they are not fool proof and your home could still be a statistic, leaving your valuables, property, and home safety at risk. It is important that you regularly discuss your homeowners insurance coverage with your N.C. independent insurance agent to ensure your valuables and property are specifically valued and defined so that if you become a victim, you will be adequately covered for replacement or agreed value. *Stay tuned for more on this topic!
