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Protect Your Home While You Are Away

posted by TrueNorth Risk Management on Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Home Protection Tips

• Contact your local police department to request that an officer visits your home to evaluate how secure it is and offer some improvements. 
• Keep your shrubs, trees and other foliage short and well-groomed. Make sure that there is nothing blocking the views from your windows and doors. 
• Lock up yard work tools (ladders and shovels) and garbage cans in your garage or shed. These items can be used by thieves to enter your home. 
• Install motion sensor lighting around your home and garage. 
• Change your locks when moving into a new home. 

Here are a few additional steps to protect your home while you're away, compliments of our friends at Porch Home Improvement: 

Safety First

Most burglaries do not occur in the dead of night like most people think. Instead, they tend to occur between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. when people are at work. Thieves also strike when homes show obvious signs that no one is there. So, while you are at work, always keep your doors and windows locked. Also, if someone calls you and claims to be seeking information for a survey, do not provide information about your schedule or daily life. They can use this information to decipher when you will be away.

• Place "Beware of Dog" and home alarm signs in your yard. Even if you do not have a dog or an alarm, this may deter potential thieves from trying to enter.
• Never allow strangers to into your home, even if they claim to be hurt and need assistance. Instead, keep your door locked and call the police. 
• Do not place a sign on your home with your family's name. Thieves can look you up in the phone book, call you and may break in when you do not answer. 
• Turn down the ringer on your phone when you're away and never leave information about how long you will be gone on your answering machine. 
• Alert friends and neighbors when you will be away for an extended period of time so that they can look out for suspicious behavior. 
• Place automatic timers on your lights and set them for different times for different rooms. This will give the impression that you are at home and doing different things in different rooms. Consider also setting a radio to a timer so that thieves are deterred by voices in the home. 
• Have a neighbor shovel or mow your grass if you will be away for a few days. This will give the impression that someone is at home. 
• Put a hold on your newspaper if you go on vacation. 
• Do not leave your valuables such as jewelry; art work or electronics sitting out in plain view. Hide these items in inconspicuous places such as old laundry detergent boxes.

TrueNorth Offers Protection

As always, TrueNorth is happy to assist you by providing comprehensive insurance and financial solutions for both home and business. Visit www.iTrueNorth.com or call (319) 739-1277 for an insurance quote to help safeguard the things that matter most to you.