Home Insurance Buyers' Guide page 8: Burglar proof your home

• Guides
• Published: 31 Aug 2008 in Household and Home Insurance

Prevention is the best insurance of all. Here are some more burglar-unfriendly tips to protect your home. Apply these measures in conjunction with ‘Tips on Reducing Your Existing Home Insurance Premiums’ for your best chance of deterring an intruder.

• Don't leave door keys in hiding places such as underneath a pot or a mat. Thieves know all the tricks.
• Even if you are only in the garden, it's still worth turning a burglar alarm on.
• Don’t leave house keys on internal windowsills. Keep keys out of sight and in a safe place.
• Paint drainpipes with non-drying, anti-climb paint.
• Plant a few prickly bushes under windows.
• Don’t leave 'back soon'-type notes on display. This is a written invite to burglars to rob you blind.
• Cancel newspapers and milk when away. Never advertise that your property is unattended.
• Use timer switches for lights, radios and even curtains, so your property looks and sounds occupied.
• Marking your valuables with a postcode pen and then placing a sticker in your window stating that you have done so can act as a deterrent to thieves.
• Make sure you have a good insurance policy to protect yourself if the worst does happen.
• Install a burglar alarm. If you can’t afford one, have a dummy alarm box fitted outside the house.
• Install motion-sensitive security lighting to the exterior of your property.

Next - page 9: How to make a home insurance claim

Back to page 7: How to reduce your home insurance premiums