Depending where you live the in the UK the more susceptible you are to be the victim of house burglary. Manchester is top of the house theft list with a reported twenty break-ins on average each day. This time of the year is also ‘ripe’ for opportunist thieves who take advantage of windows being left open and items left unattended in gardens.
The cost of insurance is also higher in these known burglary ‘hot spots’, which is the cause of many debate about the UK becoming a post code lottery in respective of other factors including health care, education and the cost of both home insurance and car insurance.
Keeping your home and its contents safe and secure is vital if you are to beat the thieves at their own game so to speak. Open downstairs windows, no matter how small, are also an open invitation for thieves to pop in and steal your possessions, quite often whilst you lay asleep undisturbed upstairs. Without being alarmist and scaremongering the summer months are key targets for some thieves who simply scour the streets looking for the unintentional invitation to help themselves to fast turnaround goods such as televisions, audio equipment and computers, plus items such as bottles of alcohol and money.
Safeguarding your possessions does not have to become an obsession, as there are steps which you can take to reduce the risk of you becoming the next victim on the statistics list.
* Firstly, a check before you retire to bed is to make sure all downstairs windows and doors are shut and locked. Old styled sash windows are easy pickings for opportunist thieves as they can quite simply be pushed up far enough to climb through. Do not be mistaken and think transom style windows are also safe, thieves can squeeze through the smallest and narrowest of windows and of course once inside simply leave via the front or back door with your possessions. More especially if you leave your keys in the lock or hanging on a hook near the door!
* Fitting an alarm is also advisable in high risk areas, although in order for it to be effective you have to use it each and every time you leave your home. Dummy alarm boxes fitted to the outside of your house is little deterrent to the most ardent of thieves, but may just do the trick to make amateurs think twice.
* Make sure your doors have dead locks as these are the hardest to break into. Never leave a key under the door mat or on a piece of string dangling inside the letter box!
* Turning your television, audio and computer equipment off rather than leaving them on standby will not only help you save money and energy, it will also not give thieves the giveaway signs, the little red lights, that you own such items. It is also advisable not to have them on open display near windows, especially if you don’t have blinds or nets to obscure them.
Make sure you have adequate home insurance and that your contents are covered should you be subject to burglary irrespective of whether you live in a theft ‘hot spot’ or not.
If you’re looking for a quote on home insurance visit Swinton.