Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How to Keep Your Home Safe

In July, we provided some helpful tips for you to help protect your car from theft. This October is Crime Prevention Month, so let’s discuss another valuable investment that needs even more protection: your home. 

Your home is more than just a dwelling. It’s a place where you keep many of your most cherished possessions. Whether it’s a family heirloom, a valuable baseball card collection, a high-end home theater system, or your personal and legal documents, your home serves as a safe for all of these items, so you should do everything you can to help protect it.

Here are some tips to help safeguard the possessions in your home:

• One of the easiest ways to protect your home is by simply locking your doors and windows every time you leave your home. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, you should invest in locks with high durability ratings and use keys that are protected against unauthorized duplication.
• Out of sight, out of mind: keep valuables out of view. That means keeping items such as legal documents, cash, and jewelry away from windows and locked away in a safe deposit box or a home safe. If you need to safely discard or destroy any documents, you can check for free community shred-it events.
• Keep your plans to yourself: while it may be tempting to share your vacation plans on social media, advertising that you’ll be soaking in the sun in Virginia Beach may be seen by would-be burglars as an open invitation to scope out your home. 
• Light it up: a well-lit home and exterior can make your home look less tempting to thieves. Exterior lights and motion detectors on the outside and indoor lights set to a timer can keep your home from becoming a target.

To learn more about protecting your home, contact your local Rockingham Insurance agent and ask about our home, auto, and umbrella policies.