Protect Your Home during High Risk Periods

There are certain times of the year when you home is at higher risk of being burglarized than others. Christmas and New Year’s are two such occasions when most people are away from home visiting family and friends. The summer is another time when you are often on holiday and away from your home for an extended period of time or maybe you go away every weekend. Simply forgetting to cancel the post when you plan to be away will alert potential burglars that your home is vacant because of the newspapers piling up. The same thing applies if you forget to leave a note for the milkman not to make any deliveries for the period during which you will not be home.

All kinds of accidents could keep these devices from working properly, such as a power outage, especially with the drain that the many Christmas lights places on the electrical systems at this time of the year. In spite of having locks on all the doors and windows, if a thief is determined to get into your home, he/she will be able to find a way of doing so. Some people leave the lights on at night to give the appearance of being home, but if there is no car in the driveway for a number of days, thieves will know that this is a bluff.

Christmas is a lucrative time for thieves because all the gifts are laying beneath the Christmas tree and they do not have to spend time searching the home for valuables. Even prior to Christmas, burglars can make off with the gifts you have purchased to give to others. Most people wrap their gifts and leave them in one central location or even if the gifts are unwrapped they usually have them all in the same room so that they have all the gifts in one place for when they start wrapping. Thus the thieves can take less time in the theft and still get away with the loot in a very short period of time. New Year’s Eve is one night of the year when most people are out late partying and ringing in the New Year. This gives thieves plenty of time to ransack your home and make off with not only the expensive Christmas gifts but other valuable items, such as electronics and jewellery.

In order to protect yourself, your home and your belongings, you not only need to have adequate locks on the doors and an alarm system, but you also need to have adequate insurance policies in place to cover such losses. Most homeowners take out insurance cover when they purchase a home and never bother to update it. Then when damage of this nature occurs, they are dismayed to find that some of the stolen items are not covered under the terms of the existing policy. Whenever you make a large purchase for your home or acquire expensive jewellery or artwork, you should contact your insurance provider to make sure that it is covered under the policy. In some cases, you may have to have additional insurance on certain items, such as furs, artwork or antiques.

There is also increased danger of incurring damage to your home or property. During the Christmas season, you will likely host a party or two in which you have many guests in your home. This is the time of the year when people do more entertaining than at other times. Having people in your home puts you at risk of one of these guests taking a liking to something that you have and putting it in his/her pocket.

It also increases the potential for damage to the home, such as accidentally spilling wine on the carpeting or upholstery or causing damage to the walls or furniture. The likelihood of this occurring is small when you have a small intimate gathering of friends, but it is possible. If you have teenage children, while you are out with friends, they may decide to invite friends over for a party. Sometimes, such a party can get out of hand with young people showing up that are not invited and they can steal or cause damage to your property. Having appropriate insurance cover in place will assure that you can recoup your losses in the insurance settlement or have the repairs done under the terms of the insurance policy.

Insurance providers do have an online presence where you can shop around to find the best policy prices with the coverage that you need for all types of accidents. Once you do take out a policy it is important to read the policy, including the fine print to make sure that it meets your insurance needs.