The Key to Making your Home Safe

During the last big downturn between 1990 and 1992, the Daily Mail reports, domestic burglaries rose by around a third. The newspaper reports that break-ins resulting in theft stood at around 600,000. This figure peaked at 800,000 in 1992, before falling back to the lower level as the economy rallied.

So what can you do to try to prevent the unthinkable happening to you?

Some insures say that your policy is invalidated unless you fit specific types of looks. Others will give you a discount if you fit the following kinds of locks. But aside from that, the following is considered best practice for making your home secure.

Your front door should be wood or timber and needs to be fitted with a thief-resistant five-lever mortise lock. Here comes the science bit… the lock needs to conform to BS 3621 (or the European equivalent, EN 12209). What is commonly known as a Yale lock is known in the industry as a rim-latch cylinder lock, and is not sufficient on its own for virtually all home and contents insurance policies. Most insurance companies, however, will be satisfied with the more secure rim automatic deadlock.

Do make sure that the door is robust. Frames should also be solid and in good condition. For the door, ensure that it is at least 44mm thick. You can make a door even safer by fitting a steel strip and steel plates from the door to the frame and around the lock.

Consider investing in a chain or bar, and possibly a door viewer if you have no window or other means of seeing who is at the door. And keep your door locked even when at home to prevent opportunistic thieves slipping in and snatching something while you are distracted on the phone or hanging out the washing.

In-door windows can be a real problem as ordinary glass can be easily smashed. If you do have such a window, think about replacing it. Toughened or laminated glass (two pieces of glass bonded together) will not break without a lot of effort and will act as a good deterrent.

Don't hang spare keys inside the letterbox as thieves do look for this. And make sure your letterbox is at least 400mm from the lock. You might want to add an internal letter plate or letter basket to offer extra security.

Patio doors - if you have them - are a common access point for burglars. Prevent this by fitting a multi-lock system. This should consist of mortise locks at the bottom and top of the doors. And additional locks will prevent the doors from being lifted out of their runners.

And finally fit security locks to all your windows and skylights. Then you'll be able to agree with the old saying. An English person's home really is their castle.

Greenbee offers a range of insurance services selected by the John Lewis Partnership. These include: home, car, travel, pet, wedding, event, over 50 life insurance and specialist home insurance products.

Customers can visit the Greenbee site for more information.