Summer burglaries alarming

Standard homeowner's insurance policies cover theft of personal possessions and damage to the home caused by burglars breaking in. If you own valuable jewelry or other luxury goods, ask your insurance agent if you need to buy a floater to ensure their coverage.

The Insurance Information Institute says 2.15 million burglaries occur annually, 65 percent of which are residential break-ins. The majority happen in the peak vacation months of July and August. They like computers, TVs, CD and DVD players, jewelry and guns. Burglars are enjoying the "Obama's gonna get our guns" hype because it means more weapons — valuable assets for thieves — are being kept in residences.

You can make your home more difficult to break in to — making the crooks more likely to target some other house in your neighborhood. Research shows that if it's going to take more than five minutes to break into a home, the burglar will go elsewhere.

Take advantage of this fact by making it time-consuming to break into your home. Dead-bolting windows and doors slows down burglars. You might be able to get a 5 percent discount on your insurance policy for this.

Make it noisy to break in by buying a burglar alarm that sounds off to the neighborhood. The most effective are outside sensing services that alert the police, fire and other emergency services. A sophisticated alarm system can get you a 20 percent discount on your insurance policy.

Make sure you have strong doors. Outside doors and frames should be made of metal or solid hardwood at least 1 3/4-inch thick. Doors should fit their frames securely. Even the best locks won't deter burglars if installed on weak doors. Garage doors also need strong locks and your tool shed does as well — they'll steal the tools to break into your home.

Turn off your computer and disconnect it from the Internet. If you save personal information on your computer, be sure it's difficult to access by hackers.

Keep valuables locked up and well hidden — bank safe deposit boxes are good places. Don't leave personal documents in your home office or desk. Burglars know to look for them there. Put critical documents in a lock box or safe somewhere unusual. Keep copies of important documents at a relative's home or at work.

Keep your home well lighted. Mount exterior lights out of reach in your yard or on your house. Put indoor lights on timers to go on and off at appropriate times as they would when you are home.

Leave your house looking inhabited, leaving blinds or curtains open in their usual positions. If you are going away for an extended period, arrange to have your lawn mowed in the summer and your driveway shoveled in the winter. Have your mail picked up or held by the post office. Stop the newspaper for your time off, and ask a neighbor to pick-up "throw-down" circulars and keep an eye on your home and driveway for strange cars.

Call your police uniform division to ask for a "watch order" on your address. Police patrol officers will drive by occasionally when not on assignment elsewhere.

Tell trusted friends you are going away, but don't discuss your plans at the supermarket or the hairdresser's or other places where you don't know who's listening.


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