8 ways to keep your home safe

Like to travel often? You’ve probably never thought about it before, but your home can be the target of thieves at any time, but more likely when you’re not there to protect it! The Choosi Home Fears report found that the majority of Australians worry about a potential break-in at their home and are concerned about the security of their home and possessions.

Want to know how you can outsmart thieves so you don’t need to worry every time you go on holidays? Check out these 8 easy ways to keep your home safe when you’re not there.

Update your technology in the lead-up to your holiday

We Aussies love our technology, and we spend around $14.2 billion on home technology alone every year. It’s no wonder, because tech helps us do so many awesome things! It keeps us in touch with friends, lets us work from home, and most importantly it protects our valuables!

Here’s how you can use it to your advantage when thief-proofing your home:

1. Use timed lights and a TV timer: Timers provide the illusion of being at home without actually being at home. Set up timers for your lights, TV, stereo system and more so you can act like you’re home even if you might be on the other side of the country.

2. Use cloud-based video recording: Home security is big business these days, and one of the best ways to protect your property when travelling is with a camera you can access remotely – e.g. Ring or Frontpoint. Check in with what’s happening at any time through your app or web browser.

3. Install fake cameras: Want to make burglars look even dumber than they already are? Buy a few fake security cameras and install them near common entryways. Not only will they frighten off sneaky thieves, but you won’t have to fork out hundreds of dollars for the real deal!

Protect your home from burglary by reinforcing its exterior

There’s nothing worse than coming home from a fun trip away and being met by a broken front door or smashed rear window. While home and contents insurance can help cover the cost of repair, you can take preventative steps ahead of time by:

4. Doing a full sweep of your home: With the Choosi Home Fears report revealing that nearly 2 out of 3 of us are getting more concerned about home security every year, now is the time to bust out the old elbow grease. Set aside half a day on the weekend to scour your home’s exterior and check for cracks and weak spots where thieves could break in. Then get to work on plugging them!

5. Investing in a few new locks: Got a fence that only has a regular bolt lock? Think about beefing up security with a chain lock. And for that pesky front door, a high-quality deadlock with the added protection of a deadbolt will do the trick. You might also want to dip your toe back into some tech with a variety of smart locks — trust us, they really are smart!

Get creative when finding spots to hide your valuables

So you’ve probably spent some of your holiday funds on security technology and done all the dirty work to secure your home’s exterior, but what about your valuables — the things those sneaky thieves actually want? It’s time to get creative!

6. Give ’em the old switcheroo: Got an old laptop you haven’t gotten around to selling yet? Leave it out while you store your current laptop somewhere safe. You can repeat this simple trick with a range of other valuables (and not-so-valuable).

7. Don’t do the obvious: We know it’s just so easy to pop open the top drawer and store your wedding ring, cash and valuables inside, but take a few extra seconds and find somewhere else to store them. That’s the first place a robber is going to look, so don’t make it obvious!

8. Blackout blinds protect inside and out: Not only do blackout blinds means snooping individuals can’t see into your home, but they also make your room near-pitch black. That means even if a crook gets into your home, they’ll have a hard time spotting anything of value.

These are just a few ideas to help you enjoy your time away from home without fear of having it broken into. And while there’s no way you can completely reduce the threat of break-ins, you can make your property a less-attractive option for thieves by investing in its security.

You might also want to look into home and contents insurance. Compare quotes today.