Ralph Moss Limited

INSURANCE STRATEGIES
7 smart ways to keep your home secure

When you're planning your summer vacation, don't forget about home security. If your home looks unoccupied, you could be inviting intruders. And if it's not properly protected, your insurance might be invalid for burglary claims.

Before you pack your bags, review this checklist of seven ways to protect your property while you're away.

• Hire a house sitter or security service to visit daily, pick up newspapers, flyers, and mail, mow the lawn, water plants, change the arrangement of drapes and blinds, and generally make the house look occupied.
• Ask a neighbour who has more than one car to park one in your driveway. But the car should not be parked in exactly the same spot the entire time you're away.
• Install timers that will turn on indoor lights and the radio at irregular intervals. This will make your house look and sound occupied. Don't leave fans or the television on -- they could be a fire hazard.
• Install motion-detector floodlights outside your home, or light-sensitive floods that come on automatically at night. Burglars prefer to work in the dark.
• Never announce on your telephone answering machine that you're away.
• Join a Neighbourhood Watch program. In some areas, Neighbourhood Watches have reduced residential break-ins as much as 48%.
• Keep ladders, ropes, wrenches, and other tools securely locked in your garage or workshop, away from easy reach of burglars.