Not even home alone

In the movies using the magic words Home Alone, a large family finds various excuses to leave their home. Except, of course, they manage to leave the younger, more troublesome one behind. The plots then variously find humor in every home owner's nightmare, i.e. that while they are away on a beach, in Paris or carving the Thanksgiving turkey on the other side of the country, burglars will see their home empty and break in at their leisure. Indeed, one of the new sources of paranoia are these wonderful pieces of technology allowing you to tweet or make other bird noises telling everyone where you are, what you are buying or eating, and so on. "Friends" who follow your instant messages may therefore know when you are away from home and how long they have to break in. Why should they want to break in? Because you tell them where you shop, what you buy, which upmarket restaurants you like to eat in and how expensive the wine you drink. You are advertising your lifestyle and telling potential thieves whether you are worth robbing.

So how does the insurance industry react to all this? Well, they're not their usual happy smiling selves. They hate the idea you're broadcasting who you are and when you are away from your home. Google is not their pin-up site of the month because it now publishes photographs of people's homes. Potential thieves can therefore see whether there are bushes in front of the windows to hide a forced entry or how easy it is to access the rear of the property. Better still are all these blogs where people recklessly publish photographs taken inside the home. This allows thieves to plan exactly how much transport to bring to drive away all the more valuable things you own.

As a home owner, you are responsible for taking reasonable care of security. This means deadlocks on the doors and windows. If you have more valuable property to defend, an alarm system would be helpful. If you're going to be away, ask the neighbors to keep on eye on things for you. If that's intended to be more than a day or so away, tell your insurance company. Did you know most insurers refuse to insure unoccupied properties? If you have yet to move in or just moved your furniture out, requests for home insurance quotes will usually be refused. The risks of people breaking in and stealing the copper wiring and all the fixtures and fittings, is just too great. Kids vandalize empty homes. In the winter, pipes freeze and flood the place when the thaw comes. Even if you do find cover, it will not be cheap home insurance. Now think about the home you live in. How will your insurer react when it knows you are going to be away for an extended holiday? That's right. It's going to want reassurance you have adequate security measures in place. If you fail to notify or have inadequate security, you may find it difficult to get your claim accepted. Always read the policy before you go. Always protect your home when you leave it.