5 ways to protect your home | Indwe Risk Services

Burglaries are a reality in South Africa. If it happens at your home, you lose more than a few possessions. A break-in, even when you’re not there, has a huge impact on your family’s sense of safety and well being. Break-ins don’t have to happen. There are a lot of things you can do to boost home security and make your house burglary-resistant. Here are 5 tips you can use to help you keep your family safe and your home and its contents intact.

1) Don’t Advertise You’re Away

A light that’s on 24 hours a day or newspapers piling up outside your mailbox is a dead giveaway that no-one’s home. Use automatic light timers throughout the house and have them turn on and off in a way that simulates your normal patterns. Look for light timers that have battery backup so the timer doesn’t stop if there is a power failure. Arrange to have your lawn cut if you’re going to be gone for a long period.

2) Befriend your neighbour

The best home security comes from neighbours who look out for one another. Make it a point to meet your neighbours so that you can ask them to keep an eye on things while you’re away. Instead of stopping your mail and newspaper delivery, ask a neighbour to pick them up and hold them for you. Seeing deliveries being made makes a burglar think someone is at home. Ask a neighbour to put his bags out on your pavement on trash day.

3) Make It hard to break In

The harder it is for a burglar to get in, the less likely you are to be robbed. Never leave doors or windows unlocked, and use solid core or metal doors that are secured with good quality deadbolt locks. Using at least one long screw in attaching each door hinge will further secure the door against forced entry. Treat a door between an attached garage and the house as an outside door and use the same type of locks that you use on the front and back door. Any glass panel in the door that is closer than 90cm to the lock should be reinforced with an invisible security film so a burglar can’t break the glass and reach through to unlock the door. Use a metal or wooden rod in the track on sliding glass patio doors to prevent them from sliding open.

4) Don’t Make It Easy to Hide

Taking away the robber’s cover goes a long way toward protecting your house. Trim back or remove any shrubbery next to doors or windows. If you are going to use plants next to the house, you should use thorny plants such roses. Use outside security lighting to illuminate every access door. Use exterior lighting with motion detectors for the garden, driveway and other outside regions.

5) Install a Home Security Alarm System

Home security alarms are not a guarantee that burglars will not enter your home, but they do make it more difficult by increasing the risk that the burglar will be seen and caught. Consider using glass-break sensors that set off the alarm at the sound of a window or glass door panel being broken. Some sensors also detect sudden shock waves and will set the alarm off if someone is trying to kick open the door. Never post your pass code next to or on the home security alarm key pad.

Ensure that you are properly covered by speaking to your insurance broker for the proper advice. Speak to an Indwe broker today for the right insurance advice. Visit www.indwerisk.co.za or call 0860 13 13 14