How to secure your home while you're away for the holidays
Whether you're staying local or heading further afield, a secure home ensures peace of mind so you can truly enjoy the festive season. Take these steps now to protect your property.
The holidays are almost here, bringing relaxation, adventure and quality time with loved ones. However, according to Statistics South Africa, in December 2023,146,000 households were robbed. It's no coincidence that this is also the month when many people go on holiday, leaving their empty homes as prime targets for criminals.
Sure, you probably have a long checklist to get through before hitting the road or heading to the airport. However, making sure your home is safe and secure should be at the top of your list. A little prep now means you can truly kick back and enjoy your time off.
With that in mind, here are our essential tips to help you keep your home secure over the holidays.
Top security tips to keep your home safe while you're away
Test your alarm and security system (and back-up power)
You know that test button on your home's alarm panel? Press it and see what happens. Ensure your alarm systems, cameras, panic buttons, outdoor lighting, beams and electric fencing are fully functional. Arrange for the security company to do a check-up (or possible fixes) if needed. Also, consider upgrading to a smart, app-based home security system so you can monitor your property remotely through your smartphone. You never know when loadshedding or an area outage will hit, so make sure your back-up power is working for security systems, too.
Secure all potential access points
Walk around your home and property's perimeter and make note of any possible entry points, like a gap between your wall and the neighbour's wall, or a window with flimsy burglar-proofing. Secure all doors, windows and gates with tamper-proof locks or burglar bars. Also, install additional safety features like deadbolts or anti-lift devices for sliding doors and remote-controlled gates.
Don't leave valuables and important documents lying around
Keep electronics, jewellery and other valuables out of sight, especially near windows or any entry points. Store these items in a lockable, bolted-down safe. Keep in mind that Discovery Insure clients can also use the Online Vault to safely store scanned copies of important documents like IDs, passports and insurance policies.
Keeping up appearances
It's obvious when people aren't home, so it helps to at least pretend.Keep your home well-lit at night using a combination of inside timers and outdoor motion sensors. Even if you don't have pets, consider hiring a house sitter who can come by once a day to open or close blinds and curtains, water plants, collect any pamphlets or newspapers stuffed in the postbox, and generally make the place seem more 'lived in'. The more 'active' a property appears, the less likely it is to be broken into.
Does your home still have sufficient cover?
Unexpected events can happen at any moment. It's always a good idea to make sure that you take the same care at this time of year as you would at any other to protect your home. So, make sure your home insurance plan is up to date. That way, you'll still be able to submit any necessary claims if you need to.
Before hitting the road - or the swimming pool - find a free moment to look at your current plan and check whether you have the right cover. You may find that you don't have enough, or that it's no longer meeting your needs.
Chat to your financial adviser or a consultant to update your plan if you need to. You can call Discovery Insure on 0860 751 751 or visit our website for more details.
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