Holidays are a fantastic and exciting time – but leaving your home empty and unprotected can be incredibly worrying. Many people understand thieves tend to target homes during the holiday season, looking out for unprotected properties.
In this article we’ll detail some of the best ways to protect a property while you are on holiday.
Having a Security System Installed
The best way to protect your home is having a comprehensive security system installed. Alarms or CCTV have a visible presence and are often enough to keep would-be intruders at bay. CCTV furthermore can, in a worst-case scenario help police to track down and prosecute the criminals responsible. These systems can also help significantly with insurance claims (and insurance providers will often expect you to have an alarm or security system installed).
Locks and other physical barriers
Alongside Alarms and CCTV, actual physical barriers are going to be necessary to stop a determined thief. Modern double or triple glazed windows tend to have proper locks while also being resistant to tamper attempts, while tall hedges can also help to prevent people from entering your garden.
Servicing and Checking Your Security System
Despite having a security system, many people do not regularly make use of it and do not fully know how to use it either. To say the least, this is a serious problem, but it also means that there may be faults the user isn’t aware of. This means that when you do go on holiday and set the alarm, you may not have set it properly – leaving your home effectively unprotected. Therefore, it is vital to check the system and learn how it functions, so you are properly aware of any faults and can report these quickly. Any faults should be reported ASAP so they can be repaired or fixed.
There’s other problems as well; a faulty alarm system is liable to constantly go off. In these cases, nothing can be done while you are away, as unless the manufacturer or installer has permission to access your house, they can do nothing to fix the alarm system. Failure to regularly have your alarm serviced means this can happen at any time, but it’s terrible to have your neighbours being constantly disturbed by a faulty alarm system.
To ensure your alarm system is functioning properly, ensure you have servicing done regularly. Servicing cannot guarantee an alarm system will be 100% free of faults but it will identify problems early on. This means the chances of an issue developing while you’re away reduced significantly.
Many insurance companies will expect you to have an alarm or security system serviced on a regular basis. Failure to do this can see insurance claims denied, as you have failed to meet the obligations of the insurance property.
Timed Lighting and Lamps
While leaving lights on over the course of your entire holiday is an impractical and expensive demand, timed lighting systems are a fantastic way to maintain the appearance of activity on your property and are often enough to scare off potential burglars or thieves.
Lock up and ensure someone is checking your home regularly
You will want to make sure every door is properly locked before you leave. Thieves and intruders are likely to try every door or entrance they can find – so it’s important to make sure your home is properly secured. This includes windows as well. It is a good idea to ask a neighbour to check up after you’ve left that your home is properly secured. Double check before you leave as well. This can provide you with a significant peace of mind.
It is also good to ask a neighbour, friend, or family member to keep an eye on your home while you are away. This is one of the best ways to keep your home safe while you are on holiday.
Cancel any Deliveries
Whether its milk, newspapers, or anything else, the appearance of items piling up outside your door or old newspapers in your letterbox are a tell-tale sign to thieves that you are not inside your home and that the house is empty and is likely not being monitored. It is important as a result that you cancel any deliveries. If this isn’t possible, having a neighbour or friend pick them up on your behalf is also a good approach.
Getting neighbours to park in your drive
One of the things that many thieves and intruders will look out for when they are searching for targets are houses without cars outside or in their drives. This is usually because a lack of car is a tell-tale sign someone is out of the house, and therefore it is more vulnerable. An easy way to resolve this is to have a neighbour park their car in your drive.