How To Avoid Holiday Insurance Nightmares

Dos

• Use a timer on your indoor and outdoor lights.
• Make friends with your neighbours and exchange contact information. You can all watch out for each other’s homes and contact each other if you see something suspicious.
• Install a motion detector light on your garage and make sure your house is well lit on the outside. Replace any dim or burnt out bulbs on your property.
• Get a good security system.
• Install a doorbell cam or outdoor security camera to keep an eye out at the door.
• Post beautiful Instagram photos after you’ve arrived home.
• Give delivery people special instructions about where to leave packages so they don’t set them at your front door. Or you could contact the shipping company and arrange to pick them up at their office.

Don’ts

• Post your holiday plans on social media. Wait to post pictures when you’re back home. Even if you have high privacy settings, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be hacked easily.
• Leave your lights on most of the time that you’re away. At 2:00 AM, kitchen lights are a clear signal to thieves that nobody’s home.
• Leave your Christmas lights on all night then turn them off when you go to bed.
• Run your light cords through a propped open window. Not only does this make your furnace work harder – using more electricity in the process – but it’s also a security issue.
• Put your Christmas tree and big beautiful gifts in front of your window. You don’t want thieves to see.
• Give out personal information to people looking for donations or people offering to shovel snow for money. They may be checking out your house.

Get Good Home Insurance

Sometimes you can do everything possible and still have a break-in. Our home insurance experts at Campbell & Haliburton can help you deal with the cost of your lost items, plus any structural damage caused during the break-in. Contact our Regina insurance brokers to find out more about your coverage and to get a quote!