How to keep your home safe while on holiday

Planning a well-deserved break away this Summer? 

Whether it’s a weekend getaway or heading away for a longer holiday, we have some tips on how to keep your home safe while on holiday.

And how best to protect your home from unwanted visitors while you’re away.

Keep your house safe and secure

Did you know that most burglaries actually take place during the day and that there are far more burglaries during the summer months than in winter?

The commonly held belief is that burglars prefer to creep around in the dark, which is simply not true.

This means your home is at far more risk of being broken into during those bright summer days than at almost any other time during the year. 

So, let’s look at our top tips for keeping your house safe and secure while you’re away.

1. Secure your house before you leave on holiday

It may seem obvious but be sure to fully lock all of your home’s external doors and windows before you leave for your holiday. 

It is also important to make sure all internal doors are locked too because each one makes your home more difficult to burgle, increasing the odds that burglars won’t bother in the first place.

Burglars avoid homes that are secured and search for easier prey instead.

Another benefit of locking all interior doors is that this action will slow down a fire in the event that one breaks out inside your property. 

So make it a habit that you keep interior doors closed when your house is vacant.

2. Ask a friend or neighbour to help

To put your mind at rest, ask a friend or neighbour to keep an eye on your house while you are away. 

Ask them to stop by your home regularly, pop in to open and close blinds, put the bins out, and also ask them to remove your post from the doormat so it’s not piling up inside the front door

Uncollected post is like painting a bullseye on your house that only criminals can see. 

If you’re leaving a car at home too, ask your friend or neighbour to move it on random days and times.

• The average cost of a home fire is €15,000
• There are almost 11,000 burglaries in Ireland each year
• A typical burglary results in €2,5000 in losses and breakage

3. Unplug all non-essential electrical devices

If you leave appliances like lamps or phone chargers plugged in while your home is vacant there’s a really good chance that those same appliances will overheat and then cause a fire.

So, before you leave, unplug all unnecessary devices – obviously excluding your home alarm system or any smoke alarms wired that require mains power. 

This will not only help prevent a fire but it will also help cut your electricity bill, we’ve all been warned of the cost of leaving TVs on standby. 

Even a relatively small fire can spread quickly and result in a home being rendered uninhabitable.

4. Automatic Lighting and Alarms

Having automatic indoor and outdoor lights can help give the impression that there is someone home even when you are away. 

You can achieve this using either a plug-in timer attached to a lamp or the more modern approach of using smart plugs and LED bulbs that you can control remotely via your smartphone.

It’s also vitally important that you activate your home’s alarm system before you leave on holiday – including all door and window sensors for all floors.  

Most providers offer monitored alarms which will give you even greater peace of mind when away on your travels. A monitored alarm system will trigger a call to you, and if that call is unanswered then the alarm system provider will contact the police on your behalf.

Make sure to let your insurance broker know if you have a monitored alarm system inside your house as it can help reduce your premium cost.

5. Check your insurance cover

And now for an often overlooked step in keeping your home safe while you’re away – your insurance cover.

Make sure you have all your contents included in your current home insurance policy. 

Do you have expensive items that you’re leaving at home? 

These may need to be specified under your home insurance policy in order to be covered in the event of a burglary.

It’s also worth checking if you’re away for a long period of time, does your policy have a limit on the number of days that the home can be left unoccupied?

All of this information is in your policy documents and our team is happy to clarify anything, just give us a call on 0818 800 222 or Request a Callback.