The big day is looming ever closer and despite all this talk of a credit crunch Christmas, Brits aren't planning to be frugal over the festive season, and thousands of homes will be full of expensive gifts.
In fact, findings suggest the nation is set to spend a total of £13.5bn (*) on presents this year, with each of us splashing out £294 on goodies. (*)
But be warned that the run-up to December 25 is one of the busiest times for burglars who will be trying to get their hands on their own wish-list of Christmas must-haves.
Households become an increased target for criminals over the winter months because the evenings are longer and darker and people leave their homes unoccupied more frequently as they catch up with family and friends.
Get covered
While this makes for rather worrying reading, you needn't have an unhappy Christmas - provided you adopt a few basic measures to deter the crooks and protect your home.
First off, you need to ensure you have adequate cover in place. When estimating the value of contents, you need to make sure it's the replacement value or original price tag that counts -and not how much you actually paid for the item.
Also note that high-value items must be listed individually on your policy - including presents for others. (See: Don’t undervalue your jewellery in the gold rush.)
Don't cut back
Many people may feel that home insurance is one area of their finances they can cut back on as household budgets tighten in the current uncertain climate.
However, this really is false economy, particularly at this time of year when many of us will have thousands of pounds of extra Christmas gifts and New Year sales bargains in our homes - pushing up the value of our home contents.
Ensure you're not under-insured
While you may have given little consideration to the value of expensive gifts you've stashed away amid the pre-Christmas chaos, by failing to factor this in, you could unwittingly exceed the contents of your policy.
Fall into this trap and you run the risk of your policy not paying out for the full amount of your home contents should the worst happen; this can apply to both the total contents, as well as individual expensive items stored in your house.
Check for extra cover
The good news is, a number of insurance providers prepare for this by automatically offering additional cover over Christmas to give extra protection for the valuable presents and purchases left in our homes.
Note however, that not all providers are so generous, so make a quick call to check out if your cover will increase, how much it will rise by, when the increase takes effect - and crucially, when it ends.
Top tips to keep the burglars at bay
- Don't leave wrapped presents on full view under the tree; keep them out of sight and close the curtains.
- Dispose of your rubbish with care, as empty boxes outside your home will advertise what you got for Christmas.
- Make sure all doors and windows are locked and that spare keys are well out of view.
- Leave lights and the TV or radio on if you're out and about, and if you're away for an extended period, ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your home.
Re-assess your cover
Once the final strains of Auld Lang Syne fade away, why not make it one of your New Year's resolutions to review your insurance, taking into account any presents you've been given - plus any purchases made in the sales.
This will give you the peace of mind of knowing you have taken a positive step towards protecting your home and its contents.
*Information provided by LV=
