Whether you’ve bagged a few Black Friday bargains or you’re yet to get around to starting your Christmas shopping, now is the time to make home security a priority and keep your new purchases or gifts safe. Between burglaries, weather damage, and potential fires, there can be an increased risk of your contents being damaged or stolen during the winter months.
Tips on How to Keep Your Home Secure This Winter
1. Check Your Alarms
Be it potential intruders or an overdone turkey in the oven, it’s important that both your burglar and fire alarms are in working order to keep you and your home safe this winter. By taking a few minutes to test that your alarms are in working order, you can reduce your risk of any unwanted Christmas nightmares.
2. Update Your Home Contents Cover
If you have any expensive gifts sitting in your home (or even better you’ve received some expensive gifts), it can be a good idea to contact your home insurance provider and update your contents cover as necessary.
If you’re an AA Home Insurance customer, we’ll automatically increase the value of your contents cover by 10% for the month of December, but it’s still a good idea to keep your cover value up to date.
3. Leave A Light On
As we move into the Christmas season, you may find yourself attending a few late night parties or enjoying some late night shopping in the days and weeks ahead. If you’re likely to be away from your home for a few hours in the evening, consider leaving a light on to give the impression that someone is home.
Meanwhile, thinking ahead to Christmas Day if you’re planning on visiting family for a few days, consider fitting a timer on your lights so that they switch on and off and regular intervals in your absence.
4. Be Safety Conscious When Decorating
We promise we’re not trying to take all the joy out of Christmas, but it’s important to be safety conscious when it comes to decorating. Keep any flammable decorations away from your fireplace where a stray spark could cause them to catch alight and make sure any candles are out of the reach of children. If you’re putting up lights on your tree or around your home, check that they are working correctly before you use them, including looking for any loose or exposed wires.
5. Weatherproof Your Home
No-one wants to carry out major work on their home at this time of year, but if you have any minor issues (such as a loose roof tile) now is the time to get them fixed. With heavy rainfall to be expected over the winter period, taking the time to make sure your home is weatherproof could be the difference between waking up happy on Christmas morning or finding yourself sitting in a mess of damp boxes.
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