05 Apr 2017
Posted by Barry Aldworth 
While you may already be planning your 2017 summer holiday, leaving a home idle for a lengthy period of a time is a major concern for many home-owners. However, there are some simple things you can do to prevent burglaries and ensure that you can focus on relaxing instead of worrying about your home.
- Leave a light on to deter intruders.
- Make sure all windows and doors are closed and locked.
- Have a house alarm fitted if you don’t already have one and make sure it’s turned on.
- Check the condition of all your external doors and door frames to ensure they fit correctly and are not damaged in a way that could make them easier for a burlar to break through.
- Fit a deadbolt lock to your home’s main exterior doors, making it impossible for any would be burglars to gain access to your home without the key.
Trust your neighbour
It would also be a very good idea to give a spare key to a trusted neighbour, friend or family member and ask them to check on your house often. Unopened post left lying on the doormat is a bit of a giveaway to anyone who wants to invade your home. During the summer it might also be a good idea to pay someone to cut your grass, too. Don’t leave a spare key where a burglar is likely to find it, for example under a pot, atop the door frame or in the garage.
Be prepared for the worst
If the worst does happen and you arrive home to find your house has been burgled, making a claim on your Home Insurance will be so much easier if you’re prepared. If something has been stolen from your home or your house has been broken into, call the Gardaí and make a note of the crime reference number which they give you.
Documenting your most valuable items by keeping receipts, guarantees, instruction manuals, valuations or photographs can help to support your claim. You may also be asked to provide estimates or invoices for claims. If the claim involves a building repair, normally two estimates are required for comparison purposes.
Home Insurance is one thing but Contents Cover is another. It’s really important to insure your contents as well as your home, and don’t forget to update your contents cover regularly. Contents cover includes household goods such as furniture, carpets, kitchen and other appliances, TVs, radios, books and ornaments. It also covers clothes, sports equipment and pedal cycles. To work out the correct amount to insure your belongings, go from room to room and write down how much it would cost to replace everything in each room. Expensive items such as jewellery or antiques should really be professionally valued.
What’s covered?
Finding the right cover is important and we would always encourage people to shop around. Make sure though, that everything important to you is covered.
For example, quite often burglars will gain access to a property by tampering with locks or stealing house keys. Replacing your locks and keys can be extremely expensive but The AA covers you up to €1,000. Honeymooners will also be relieved to hear that their wedding gifts are also covered by up to 10% of the contents sum insured.
It’s the last thing you want to think about when you’re going on holiday but if you’ve done your homework and you follow our security advice, your mind can be a little more at ease, leaving you to enjoy a much deserved vacation.
Time to renew your home cover? Take out AA Home Insurance online and get an automatic €60 discount.
