Guides

If you have just bought your house, or you're still paying a mortgage, you will probably find that your mortgage lender will insist you have adequate cover for the building itself, so if the house was damaged beyond repair or destroyed your insurance will cover the cost of rebuilding.  

Always remember you are not tied to any one insurance company - it's always best to compare policies and prices. Just because an insurance company has given you a well-priced policy in the past it doesn't mean their current policy offer is competitive.

Some sales people will tell you it is compulsory to have both contents and buildings insurance. Strictly speaking, both building and contents insurance are optional, but, as mentioned, you often need buildings cover as part of your mortgage conditions. You don't have to buy them both from the same insurer but there are often discounts available if you take out both from the same company.

Home security

Opportunist thieves commit most burglaries. In two out of ten burglaries they don't even have to use force - they get in through an open door or window.

Our home security guide covers a number of useful tips on how to protect your property and belongings.

It is far better to protect your home against burglars and thieves than suffer the distress of finding your home has been broken into and your possessions stolen.

Keep a record of your property

Marking your belongings helps police to convict criminals and return possessions to their rightful owner. But marking certain items like jewellery or antiques could reduce their value. You should get expert advice in these cases.

You can still protect items that can’t be marked by keeping a record of them. A simple and effective way of doing this is to photograph each item, preferably with a digital camera in colour, paying special attention to any distinguishing marks such as initials or crests which may be used to identify the item. Take the photograph against a plain background and include a ruler to give an idea of size. Then you can keep a record on CD.

Put together a record of all the items you have in your house. This list is also useful to figure out how much to insure you home contents for.

It's a good idea to give a second copy of the list and the photographs to a trusted member of your family or a close friend to look after for you.

Advertising the fact that your property has an alarm and that your belongings are marked may warn off thieves.

For more advice on protecting your property, contact the Crime Prevention Officer at your local police station.