Don’t let crime ruin your festive season; use these festive season safety tips to get peace of mind while away from your home
Ah December, the time of travel, road trips, beaches and family. It is also a time where we spend our holidays away from home. And unfortunately, living in South Africa, being away from home puts our house at risk of crime and theft.
Burglaries are a reality over the festive season and coming home to a house that has been broken into is a sure-fire way to put a damper on any holiday.
Related: Why home insurance matters during the holidays – especially when you aren’t home
That’s why, with a little planning and preparation, you can keep your home and the contents in it, safe and sound with these 5 amazing hacks:
5 Festive Season Safety Tips for Your Home & Its Contents
1. Make sure you have household insurance
Household insurance should be the first thing on your list of things to do before you go on holiday. Being insured can help in covering the costs of theft and damage from thieves breaking in.
If you get insurance through Oneplan then it’s as easy as snapping a pic of your items and uploading them through the Oneplan app. It only takes one minute to sign up and one minute to get insured.
2. Install an alarm system
The better the security on your house, the less your monthly premium for your household insurance will be. But not only that, having an alarm that is in working condition can stop thieves from breaking in.
Make sure you check the battery before you leave for holiday and contact your armed response company to ensure that your contacts details are right. In fact, our policy states the following:
Burglar alarm
- If your policy stated that you have a burglar alarm installed in your home (including outbuildings) or that we need you to have one, then we only cover if this is true and:
- The alarm is working properly
- You test this alarm every 6 months
- You comply with all the conditions of your contract with the suppliers of the alarm system
- The alarm system is activated whenever the home is unattended
- You have a contract with a security service provider for monitoring and responding to the alarm
- The service provider has a 24-hour immediate response operations centre
- The service provider can give us an audit log of all alarms received (including activation and deactivation) if we ask for it following a claim.
Discover: 7 Easy Peasy Home Maintenance Tips for the Smart Homeowner
3. Don’t share your holiday plans on social media
We know how excited you probably are right now about this awesome trip you have planned to somewhere fabulous, but sharing these plans and telling the world you are leaving your home unattended could also let thieves know about a home where the owners are away, your home to be exact. Make sure your sharing preferences on social media are for friends only and not the public.
4. Don’t hide your keys around your house
Gone are the days when you could just pop your keys under that rock in front of your front door or in a pot plant. Rather leave your keys with a close friend in case something does go wrong at your house, so someone you know and trust can get inside if need be.
5. Close everything up!
Draw your curtains, close the windows and try to keep all valuables out of sight! This stops any prying eyes from getting a little look at what you’ve got inside your home – out of sight, out of mind!
It’s a good idea for you to plan and put these certain measures in place to decrease your risk of a burglary, and in the case of household insurance, cover the costs for if something does go wrong.
Read next: Choosing the Right Home Insurance for Your Needs: 3 Tips
Have fun these holidays and make sure you implement these festive season safety tips so that you don’t have to stress about your home when you are away.
Your Insurance Family,
Oneplan
