Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Category:
Personal Finance Tips
As British summertime commences, many households will be eager to retrieve their patio furniture from sheds and garages in preparation for enjoying the weather to come.
However, according to Halifax Home Insurance, sensible measures should be adopted in order to protect such valuable items from thieves.
Regardless of the unimpressive weather last summer, garden theft soared by 63 percent, with furniture, tools, barbeques and ornaments being prime targets. Replacement costs ran to £433.00, up 12 percent on the previous year as per the Halifax in-house claims data. The same report concluded that London inhabitants are most at risk of garden theft, second to which being Richmond and Twickenham, followed by Grimsby.
Senior claims manager for Halifax Home Insurance, Martyn Foulds, said: "It is important for homeowners to bear in mind the value of items outside the home as well as inside, as the collective cost of patio furniture, barbecues and children's play equipment can soon add up. We'd advise people to check that their home insurance policy protects against theft from the garden and we'd also recommend making life as difficult as possible for the opportunist garden thief."
Halifax Home Insurance has offered the following advice to protect against prospective garden thieves:
- Be sure to lock valuable items up as opposed to leaving them out in view.
- Make patio tubs as difficult as possible to carry, by placing heavy stones or bricks in the bottom.
- Write your postcode on valuable items so that they can be identified if found by police following a theft.
- Join your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme if there is one, otherwise start one up.
- Consider high walls, spiked fences and prickly hedges, which should make entry into your garden more difficult for thieves.
- Gravel on driveways and in gardens can also make life more difficult for prospective thieves as they are then more likely to be heard approaching the property.
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Homeowners that are looking to improve the level of security in and around their home may wish to consider taking out a
secured loan to fund the work required. One of many finance options to fund home improvements, a secured loan could be used to replace existing doors and windows that may now be weaker than their modern counterparts. Security locks could also be fitted to further enhance peace of mind, along with alarms and closed circuit television if desired. In addition, a secured loan could be utilised to introduce secure boundaries around the parameters of the property so as to deter would-be burglars.
