by badbadivy

It is virtually impossible to make your home completely burglar proof, but there are many things that you can do to reduce the likelihood that you will be targeted. An appropriate home buildings and contents insurance policy will pay you the cost of anything that is stolen or damaged, but some sentimental items may be irreplaceable to you no matter their market value. One of the best ways to ensure that your home is not targeted by thieves is to ensure that yours is not the easiest opportunity on the street.

To make your home as secure as possible, make sure that you lock your doors and windows and use your burglar alarm if you have one. Even if you are at home, thieves could walk through an open door and take car keys or a handbag before you even knew they had been in, so dont leave valuables by the door where they can be snatched.

Its also worth bearing in mind that if you are out and your bag is stolen with your keys in it, if there are also letters with your address in the bag then the thief has access to your house. Try to avoid carrying your address with your keys, and if your keys are stolen, be sure to change your locks as soon as possible.

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It is also advisable to change the locks when you move into a house because the previous owner or tenant could have kept copies. Be careful who you trust with your keys, the workman that you leave them with could easily make copies.

Avoid leaving anything outside your house that a burglar could turn into a house breaking tool. Bricks, ladders, spades and even wheelie bins can be used by house breakers to smash or access windows that you may think are secure. Trees or shrubs that make your house difficult to see from the road may make your house particularly vulnerable to burglars who know they can break in without being seen, so consider whether it is worth sacrificing a little privacy to ensure that your home is not attractive to thieves.

If you do not use your existing security measures like burglar alarms and window locks, your insurers may say that you have failed to meet the terms and conditions of your policy and refuse to pay your claims if you are burgled. If the worst does happen, ccontact the police immediately and your insurers as soon as possible.

Your insurance company will need details of anything that has been stolen, so it is helpful to make an inventory of your belongings, perhaps annually, and to keep receipts for any major purchases. Photographs can be a useful way of making a record of the number and condition of items such as clothes and jewellery.

Your insurance company will be have experience of dealing with burglaries and can give useful advice on how to make your home as safe as possible. While it is very important to have home insurance in case you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of a burglar, the best course of action is to prevent it in the first place.