Protect your home this Winter from the rising number of burglaries

Burglary claims rise during Autumn & Winter

A major home insurance company found that the number of burglaries has increased since October as the nights have drawn in despite all of the UK being in a lockdown. It also suggests that burglaries could continue to rise right through Winter and advises homeowners to take the necessary precautions to protect their home, even if they’re heading out for a brief time for exercise or going to the shops.

Very few burglaries are impulsive or opportunistic. Most burglars will stake out a home or neighbourhood before trying to gain entry. Breaking into homes on a whim is pretty likely to get you caught. With this in mind, the object of protection against burglary isn’t so much to prevent people from gaining access, it’s about making the task seem as high-risk and low-reward as possible.

Ensure keys don’t get in to the wrong hands

It may seem like an obvious step but making sure your keys don’t end up in the wrong hands is one of the simplest measures you can take to safeguard your home.

Data from the Office of National Statistics shows that 10% of burglaries actually involve the burglar accessing the property with a key. This type of burglary can often easily be avoided and can sometimes be fairly costly.
It’s also worth noting that if your house is broken in to by someone who has been given a key many insurers like Admiral say you may not be covered.

Avoid leaving your keys under a doormat

A home insurance company carried out some further research which suggested 20% of homeowners keep a spare key under their doormat/ plant pot meaning millions of keys could be in UK gardens and driveways.

In addition 60% of respondents said they didn’t change their locks after losing a set of keys, and 50% said they didn’t change locks after moving to a new home. This means there could potentially be many sets of keys in circulation for the same property leaving homeowners extremely vulnerable to keys ending up in the wrong hands.

It really is no surprise that burglars take advantage of these predictable hiding places. Generally we recommend if you must leave a key for a close friend or family member think of a less obvious place than the doormat or a plant pot, and always make sure to look around when retrieving your spare key, in case an opportunistic burglar is waiting.

Tips for securing your home during Winter

There are lots of ways to secure your home during Winter, even if you carry out some of the below steps it all contributes to your home security making sure you and your family are protected:

• Choose British Certified doors – When fitting any new doors or windows make sure these are certified to British Standards
• Use Ultion High Security Locks – Fit mortise locks to front & back doors and locks to downstairs & any easy to reach windows
• Secure your entire property – Keep your garage and sheds locked at all times with any tools or equipment out of sight
• Add a security alarm – Fit a burglar alarm if you haven’t good one already
• Be mindful of valuables – Keep valuable items such as wallets, electrical items & car keys out of sight at all times including during the day
• Keep your garden organised – Keep on tops of your property maintenance trimming any overgrown hedges or bushes that potential burglars could hide in
• Light up entrance ways – Consider investing in security cameras and/or lights which can alert you of any presence on your property