Having to make a claim on your home insurance is never much fun, but it is always better to have home insurance just in case you need to. Here are a few ways of reducing the risk that you will have to make a claim.

Close your windows

This must be one of the warmest summers in recent history and, unaccustomed as we are to hot humid weather, not many of us have air conditioning in our homes, so the tendency is to leave our windows open to encourage a cool draught to blow through. However open windows are also an open invitation to burglars, and not only the opportunistic ones. It isn’t at all unusual for thieves to wander through housing estates in warm weather looking for open windows to enter so that they can grab something valuable and quickly get away. Don’t be a victim of opportunistic theft; keep your doors and windows closed even in hot weather.

Going away? Turn off the water

It isn’t only in the cold weather when water leaks happen. Naturally burst pipes are most likely to occur in the winter, but there are many other things that can go wrong too, for instance a float valve can fail at any time with the potential of causing serious damage. All you need do is locate the main stopcock and turn it off before you leave for your summer holiday.

Change your locks

If you haven’t changed the locks on your home since you moved in, then you really should do so. Many people could have had possession of the keys at some time, for instance a neighbour, and it’s even possible that somebody else has a copy of your key right now. Even if you took possession of a new build property, many tradesmen will have had access to the keys at various stages of its construction. If you rent a property, then you are advised to talk to your landlord about getting the locks changed.

Install a safe

A home safe is a valuable deterrent to burglars and ideally you should choose a safe that has been approved by the Association of Insurance Surveyors. Make sure that it is properly installed, for instance it should be bolted to a solid wall or the floor. You should keep all your valuables in it along with important documents.

Check your smoke alarms

According to the Fire and Rescue Service, every year they attend around 600,000 fires, and each year there are 800 fire related deaths and over 17,000 injuries. Many fires could be prevented by the simple expedient of installing a smoke alarm; doing so will reduce the chance of dying in a fire by a half. If you don’t have any fire or smoke alarms, then you should install some as soon as you can, and if you have some then you should regularly check that they are working, and if they are battery powered you should change the batteries regularly.

Article Submitted By Community Writer.