Taking steps to secure your belongings

No matter what the season, homes are at risk from burglars – both the meticulous and the opportunistic. Some of the preventative measures that you can take to reduce the risk of being burgled will actually cut your premium in some circumstances. All of them should help give you peace of mind and make life difficult for any potential housebreakers:

• If you've recently moved to a new property change all the locks - you never know who may still have the key to your house.
• Some people say that expensive home security systems attract cat burglars who suspect that the owner must have something worth protecting. This is a stance which is not taken by many insurers, most of which would advise in favour of installing a good home security system. Once again, ask your insurer if there are any particular types that are favoured by insurers. The majority are "bell only" alarms, which cost between £300 and£1,000 depending on the size of house. A more expensive option is to go for a security system that is linked to a manned surveillance room. These days, the police rarely respond to ringing burglar alarms and neighbours will frequently ignore them too. So for peace of mind, the more expensive option offers better protection, if you can afford it.
• Make sure that the locks on your house are up to scratch. The recommended type are normally what are known as "five-lever mortice locks" for outside doors, while windows should ideally have two bolt locks each. Check with your insurer if they have any specific preferred types of lock that may reduce your premium. The reason that they reduce your premium is because they are statistically proven to lessen the risk of being burgled, which inherently makes them more likely to be secure. It's not usually advisable to lock internal doors - once a burglar is inside your house, kicking down an internal door will pose little obstacle and it will not always be covered by your insurance.
• It is no secret that a home is significantly more likely to get burgled when the owners or occupiers are not in. That doesn't mean that you should spend all your time in the house for fear of being burgled, just don't make it obvious when you are out. Houses that are empty for more than five hours at a stretch are particularly at risk, as this gives the burglar enough time to thoroughly rifle through all your possessions.
• If you are going to be away for days at a time, consider getting time switches for some of the lights in the house, cancel newspapers and milk deliveries and ask someone you trust to collect your mail, draw the curtains at night and generally keep an eye on the property.
• Leaving keys in obvious places is a big no-no and makes your house an obvious target, even if the keys are you're your garden shed. A desperate burglar may not be too choosy about what they steal and bikes or garden tools are quite commonly stolen. Leaving your house key in your letterbox or under the doormat is asking for trouble.
• If you've got tools and ladders around your property lock them away so a thief can't use them to break in. Check your fences are secure and that your gate can be locked where necessary.
• Install security lighting on the outside of your house to deter thieves when it's dark.
• Not only will joining a local Neighbourhood Watch scheme knock anything up to 10 percent from your insurance premium, it really can offer added protection, as long as the neighbours can be trusted - neighbours don't always make good friends, and it is not unheard of for burglaries to mysteriously happen once unscrupulous neighbours get wind of a holiday or time away.
• Watch out for unfamiliar faces hanging around and confront them or call the police if you think they are up to no good. If strangers call round to your house, make sure that you check their identification, especially where workmen and 'officials' are concerned. Genuine people will be well schooled in showing id and won't be embarrassed if you ask them for it. It can be a good idea to keep the door on the chain while you do this, or check them out through a spy hole first. If you do let anyone into your home, don't leave them alone if you can help it and always accompany them when they leave. Finally, at least as far as callers are concerned, be wary of handing out information in person or over the phone and be very suspicious of anyone who appears to be trying to find out when the house is empty.
• Don't give out any information over the phone - again the caller may be bogus and trying to find out when your house isn't occupied.
• Finally, burglars prefer houses without a resident dog, as the bite can be worse than the bark, and although many burglars are men, the dog would probably not be their best friend. But a dog is not just for Christmas, so you have to be prepared to keep it all year round and not just in the winter months.