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The Truth about the Christmas Santa's of the insurance industry
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Christmas is a time when families have a lot of extra valuables in the house. Insurance companies are well accustomed to the fact that Christmas provides the perfect opportunity for a burglar to do his own Christmas shopping at your expense!
Home Office statistics highlight the months of October to January as a period of increased burglary activity, so it is a good idea to take extra precautions now, before it is too late. Not only can a little thought save a lot of heartbreak but it could also help reduce your insurance premiums. And in present market conditions, that must be a good idea.
Ways of protecting your home against burglary include:
- Alarms: Your insurer may well require you to install a specific make. Make sure you know if you are covered when the alarm is switched off. There are always some special clauses, for instance it is a good thing to have a dog but do you know the effect on your insurance policy if you cannot switch on the alarm because your dog is alone in the house.
- Money: Don't keep more cash on the premises than is absolutely necessary and make sure what you have is in one safe, concealed place.
- Locks: Always use dead locks.
- Keys: Do not leave keys where they can be seen, but keep them out of sight in a draw.
- Lights: Leave some lights on in key rooms if you are out for the evening.
- Electrical Items: Do not leave valuable items in view.
- Garden Theft: Do not leave valuable items lying around in the garden but locked away.
- Property marking: Mark all property of value. Many items that are stolen and recovered each year are never returned to the owner, as the police are unsure who the owner is!
Increased home protection will act as a deterrent to a burglar, or at least make their job more
difficult. Unfortunately there is no 100% full proof method, so what other ways can you protect
your Christmas presents?
Insurance companies offer different policies and as a result the levels of cover they provide will vary. It is important that when you sign up to a new insurer you ask if your contents cover will be automatically raised over the Christmas period to include any Christmas presents. If it is, then confirm the length of time the cover will be available for.
Companies that feature on InsuranceWide's house panel that automatically increase the level of cover cover Christmas to include food, gifts, and drinks are:
- Insurancewide: £700 per month additional cover from 1st November until 31st January.
- AXA: 10% increase 1st December to 14th January.
- Churchill: 10% increase over the Christmas period.
- Direct Line: 10% increase in cover from 1st December to 13th January.
- Norwich Union Direct: £3,000 additional cover from 1st December to 31st December.
- Tesco's: 10% increase 1st December to 15th January.
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