Home Security - Protecting what you value 

12 February 2018

  By Alexandra Richards, Private Clients Development Executive 

At Bruce Stevenson, we provide useful advice on the best ways to protect what is valuable to you. 

Evident physical security measures in a home are a must, but perhaps less obvious is being aware of what you are posting on social media.  Photographs posted on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter of you on holiday can be hacked or viewed by undesirable prying eyes, alerting them to the fact that your home is unoccupied.

Andrew Davies, senior risk surveyor at AXA Art Insurance Limited always says treat security like an onion – starting with the outer perimeter layer (your boundary) then the layer around the house (locks and alarms) with further layers (safes, panic buttons, valuables such as cash distributed evenly around the house) until only finally do you reach the core. The more layers an intruder has to overcome, the harder it will be to break in, which will take longer and therefore they are less likely to try.

Layers of security:

Perimeter /Boundary of your property

• Make it hard to penetrate, even hedges can be thick, prickly and thorny.
• CCTV
• Gated entry with video phone and security lighting

1st Inner layer – the garden

• Don’t leave things like ladders lying around, or bins that can be used to climb up to access windows.
• Keep outbuildings locked so thieves cannot access tools and implements that could be used for breaking into your home.

 2nd inner layer – exterior of the house

• Visible intruder alarm box on the exterior of the house.
• CCTV and security lighting
• Double glazed windows, window locks, minimum 5 lever mortice deadlocks on accessible doors

3rd inner layer – in the house

• If you are planning on being away, make the house look occupied. Use lights on a timer, alert neighbours, friends and family and arrange for them to check the house from time to time, clear post away.
• Use a housesitter.
• Make sure alarms are set.
• Use a door viewer and a door chain.
• Use a safe for your valuables ensuring it is adequate for the values contained within it and try not to keep large sums of money in the house – if you must, make sure it is well dispersed around, but check your money limit on your insurance policy.
• You can use a UV marker pen to place an invisible imprint of your postcode and house name or number of your possessions.

Remember:

36% of all burglaries are crimes of opportunity, with burglars letting themselves in through unlocked doors or windows (Association of British Insurers)
You are 10 times more likely to be burgled if you don’t have basic security (Association of British Insurers)

If you would like some help with the security protections of your home we can help you. Please contact Alexandra Richards on 07464 545648 or alexandra.richards@brucestevenson.co.uk