This is one of the busiest times of year for burglars attempting to get their hands on their own wish-list of Christmas must-haves. Make sure your home is not a target.
With Christmas fast approaching, our homes are starting to fill up with expensive presents and gifts for family and friends.
Despite these straitened times, festive spending remains high with consumers predicted to spend an average of £560 celebrating Christmas this year, according to crime prevention charity Crimestoppers.
And separate figures from insurer LV= suggest the average parent will spend £178 on each child.
Busy time for burglars
However, the next few weeks can be one of the busiest times of year for burglars who will be attempting to get their hands on their own wish-list of Christmas must-haves.
Homes are at greater risk of getting targeted over the winter months as the evenings are longer and darker, and people are out more frequently as they catch up with family and friends.
“Even with the squeeze on family budgets, people are still investing a lot of time and money on selecting the perfect gifts for their nearest and dearest,” says insurer Matt Pernet from More Than.
“It’s especially important to make sure your home is secure over the Christmas period.
"Homes are particularly vulnerable to burglary during the early evening hours in December when it is dark but occupants have not returned home from work.”
Don't exceed your contents limit
Nonetheless, you needn’t have an unhappy Christmas, provided you have adequate home insurance in place and adopt a few basic measures to protect your home.
You may have got so caught up in the festive frenzy that you’ve had little or no time to think about the value of expensive gifts you’ve got stashed away, not to mention the bargains you pick up in the January sales.
But all of these purchases will push up the value of your home contents and means you could unwittingly end up exceeding the contents of your policy.
If this is the case, you are at risk of being under-insured should you fall victim to theft, less or accidental damage.
This means your policy may not pay out for the full amount should the worst happen.
Automatic additional Christmas cover
The good news is many insurers automatically offer extra cover over the Christmas period to give additional protection for the valuable presents and gifts left in our homes.
For example, More Than increases contents insurance cover by £7,500 between 1 December and 1 February.
Tesco Home Insurance applies an automatic month-long uplift to the value of home contents of 20 per cent on its Finest policies, and 10 per cent on its Standard policies.
The Post Office also offers an automatic 10 per cent increase in cover.
But this extra benefit is not offered on all policies so it pays to contact your insurer and double check, says Mark Gabriel, head of home insurance at Confused.com.
“You should regularly check your home insurance documents to ensure that all of your possessions are covered.
“This is particularly important at Christmas, when you may have more gifts and valuables in the house than usual."
Deter the crooks
There are also a number of steps you can take to keep the burglars at bay this Christmas.
- Don’t leave wrapped presents on full view under the tree. Keep them out of sight and draw the curtains.
- Set lights – and the radio – on a timer when your home is unattended and don’t leave the spare key on display near your front door.
- Consider installing outside security lights and a burglar alarm.
- Dispose of your gift packaging with care, as empty iPod and TV boxes outside your home will advertise what you got for Christmas.
Going on holiday
If you are planning on being away over the holiday period, you need to take further steps to protect your home.
- Ensure exterior doors are fitted with locks confirming to the British security standard. Read why it's important to know your locks.
- Check windows are fitted with key-operated locks.
- Cancel the milk and papers.
- Ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your home.
- Ensure valuables are locked up safe.
January review
At the start of January, seize the opportunity to review your home contents cover and ensure your “sum insured” is up-to-date.
Take into account the value of the additional gadgets and gifts that you received at Christmas.
