Lower Your Risk Of A Costly Home Break-In With These Steps

8 July 2016
 Categories: Insurance, Blog

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Having someone break into your home can make you feel as though your privacy has been violated, but there can be other ramifications even once the broken glass is cleaned up. If you choose to file a claim with your home insurance provider, you'll need to pay your deductible — which means that the break-in will cost you financially. Fortunately, homeowners can complete a wide range of jobs that will leave their homes less susceptible to a break-in. Having a home security system installed is one idea, but there are a number of other valuable avenues to explore. Here are some ideas.

Bar Your Garage Windows

It can often be easy for a burglar to break into your garage through a window, given that the window is easier to access than the locked garage door. From the garage, the burglar has the option of continuing into your home or removing valuables from the garage — and you might have to pay a higher insurance rate as a result of the break-in. A simple way to prevent this problem is to install bars on the window of your garage. Bar kits are available at many home improvement stores and are easy to install; you adjust them to fit the window and then attach them to the frame with long, heavy screws.

Remove The Exterior Key

Keeping a key hidden outside your home offers some degree of convenience, but there's also a risk that a seasoned burglar will find it quickly. The best strategy is to remove this key; whether it's under the doormat, hidden in a fake rock or stuck to the underside of your mailbox, it's too risky to leave where someone could find it with relative ease.

Install Video Cameras

Video cameras can bolster the security of your home and reduce the risk of a break-in that will lead to a change in your insurance premium. If you don't have the budget for real cameras and elaborate recording system, there's a valuable shortcut — dummy cameras. These fake cameras look authentic and can be mounted in a variety of locations to keep people with sinister intentions at bay.

Use Timers On Your Lights

A low-cost way to reduce the risk of a home break-in and subsequent insurance rate increase is the use of timers on your lights. You simply need to plug various lights into the timers and set them so that they'll turn on and off throughout the day and evening — giving anyone watching your home the impression that it's currently occupied.

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