Are you paying too much home insurance? It’s always good to try and save money on your outgoings and our home security premiums are something that we often overlook. Whilst the most obvious way of saving on your home insurance is to shop around for the cheapest deal by using the various comparison websites on the internet. But there is another effective tactic too that you can use in conjunction with this, and that is making your home more secure and letting your insurer know about it when applying for home insurance.
It’s quite obvious really that any insurer will look favourably upon a homeowner who takes their home security seriously and proactively tries to improve it. This is because the better the security is at your home, the less chance that the insurance company will have to pay out on a claim. Reviewing your home security is the first step to driving down your insurance premiums. We take a look at some of the key areas of your home security that should help reduce your insurance premiums.
Security Cameras
Security cameras have a dual benefit in terms of home security. They can record suspicious activity and break-ins and can help the police identity and catch the culprits (which may also lead to you getting some of your stolen goods back). However, their premier benefit is that they prevent burglaries happening in the first place. Faced with a street of homes that are potential targets, burglars will almost certainly prefer to target a house without CCTV because they have less chance of getting caught. These two facts should put in good stead with your insurance provider regarding your premiums.
Exterior Lighting
Getting external lighting fitted in conjunction with CCTV can be a really good idea. Sensor activated lighting can alert you to any movement outside of your home and when you consider that over 50% of burglaries are at night, it really is a security essential. Like CCTV, if burglars see that security lighting is fitted, they will almost certainly turn away and leave your property empty handed.
High Quality Locks
Did you know that 73% of all burglaries in the UK are done by accessing the property via doors. 3% of these are left unlocked. Therefore, it’s crucial that you always lock your doors. Are all locks the same? No! You should only use good quality locks, ideally fitted by an experienced locksmith. Using mechanisms such as Five-Lever Mortice Deadlock and key-operated multi-point lock systems will see the security of your door increasing significantly which should help to lower your insurance premiums.
Burglar Alarm
Burglar alarms can also help reduce your insurance premiums. Like CCTV, its main purpose is in crime prevention, as if it is clear that you have a burglar alarm, most thieves will move on elsewhere. Our tip is to go for a wireless alarm though as wired alarms can have their wires cut by burglars, rendering them useless.
By implementing these measures and informing your home insurance company, you should hopefully see a reduction in your insurance premiums. Even if not though, you’ll have significantly increased the security of your home and the peace of mind that this will give you and your family is priceless.