At Farmers Union Insurance Agency, we want to help you manage risk to your Home and Property.  So here are some great guidelines from our Company Partner, Secura Insurance, on how you can keep your home safe from burglars, especially when you’re away for the holidays.

Guidelines for Keeping Your Home Safe from Burglars

You can discourage burglars from targeting your home if you implement security measures based on three things burglars don’t want.

1.  They don’t want to be seen.
2.  They don’t want to be heard.
3.  They don’t want to be slowed down.

While no amount of prevention will discourage determined burglars, you can put roadblocks in their way that may make them decide to skip your home and look for a more attractive opportunity.  Here are a few guidelines:

• Install exterior lighting around doors and garages; motion detection floods are ideal.
• Remove or trim shrubs close to your home that could make great hiding places for burglars.
• Leave lights or a radio on when you leave home.  If you go on a vacation, put them on timers.
• Have a trusted friend or neighbor pick up any mail, newspapers, or sales flyers when you are out of town.  During the winter, hire someone to plow your drive and walkways.
• Use video surveillance; many systems are inexpensive and are do-it-yourself.
• Connect to a central station alarm service if your budget will allow.
• Use deadbolts on your doors – these take longer to defeat.
• Make sure pins in windows are inserted to prevent prying open if your windows don’t have high quality locking devices.  If your windows are open, keep the opening small to avoid entry.
• Establish family procedures for locking doors and windows.  Keep your door locked at all times if possible, even when you’re home.
• Don’t store ladders outdoors where they can be used for entry to upper levels of your home.
• Don’t leave your vehicle keys in a visible area.
• Don’t leave purses, wallets, cash, and high-valued items in direct view of your windows or in plain sight.
• Make sure personal computers and laptops have difficult passwords.  Alpha numeric combinations are the hardest to figure out.  Don’t use your name or address as passwords.
• Evaluate what you need for fencing around your home.  Stockade closed picket style fencing is usually not good because it closes the view of your property to neighbors.  Some types of fencing can provide a degree of security because of the time it takes for a burglar to deal with it.  Keep in mind, it is one of the easiest security measures to defeat.  Resources might be better spent elsewhere before you consider this option.
• Get to know your neighbors.  One of your greatest sources of protection is people in your neighborhood who care.

For more helpful tips like these, check out Secura’s Blog at findyouradvantage.net.