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Assetsure News 28th September 2007
Winter nights spell
increased Burglary Insurance Claims
As if we needed any reminder that winter will soon be upon us , the
nights are beginning to draw in and homeowners are being asked to
check insurance arrangements and home security as these months often
see a dramatic rise in the number of break-ins. Under cover of
darkness, thieves are often able to approach homes unseen and with the
bulk of UK homes having no alarm or security lighting, a determined
thief is often able to break in without too much trouble.
Unbelievable as many as 25% of the Uk population do not have any form
of
home insurance, any with the risk of
a claim form Theft or more recently from the effects of
flooding, not having any form of
insurance for your property seems to be false economy.
However, simply taking out a home insurance policy is not enough, it
is wrong to assume that once you have bought your insurance protection
that you will covered in respect of all claims. Most insurance
policies have conditions and clauses that have to be adhered to before
a valid claim can be made.
In particular, most policies have protection warranties, these relate
to securities at the home that have to be in place if a claim is to be
valid. They do vary from postcode to postcode but its safe to say that
the higher the prospect of crime in your area, the higher the physical
securities you need at your home. These include 5 lever mortise
deadlocks (Kitemark
BS3621) which are designed to hold out against attack by
force, drilling, manipulation and hacksaw. Many homes already have
these fitted, if you are in doubt, show the key to your local
locksmith and he will be able to tell you). If you don't have one,
they are relatively cheap to buy and install. Quality window locks,
need to be key operated and most double glazing systems now have them
included as standard, if you do not have double glazing, these locks
can be obtained for around £15.00 a time from most DIY stores and
again are easy to install.
Some insurers will require an alarm to be fitted at your property and
these vary greatly in their cost and effectiveness. Particularly
useless is the bells only alarm system which like the car alarm seems
to do nothing but annoy the neighbours. Next up the ladder is a
central station alarm and this has to be installed by an approved
company and maintained annually under a contract. This is a much
better bet as if a thief breaks in to you home, the alarm is monitored
at a centre and either yourself or the police can be altered quickly.
At the top of the pile is the
Redcare alarm which is the most
expensive but is the most effective with digital signalling. If you do
find out that your insurance company wants you to fit additional
security at your home, always check first of all on the requirements,
it can be quite costly to undertake a program of improvements only to
find out that what you have had fitted is not up to scratch.
Try to stay safe this winter and remember that most people believe
that good quality physical protections at home will do more to deter a
thief than alarms. Also, if you do opt for security upgrades always
remember to inform your home insurers, you may find that you will be
entitled to a discount from your next home insurance renewal and this
will help offset the cost of installation.
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Copyright Assetsure Limited 2007
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