Dec
26M&S Money has warned consumers that they should take greater security measures over Christmas to prevent themselves from becoming the victims of burglaries.
Domestic burglaries are at their highest during the darkest winter months of the year, and there is the added risk of having a large number of expensive presents left in homes before Christmas Day, which can be a very tempting proposition for thieves.
A recent survey by M&S Money found that 39% of homeowners leave presents under the tree long before Christmas Day, with only 7% of respondents waiting until Christmas Day itself to put the presents on display. If these are left in full view of passers-by who can see them through the windows then it could provide an incentive for thieves to target the house.
The insurer also highlighted the fact that many people may not have adequate cover for their Christmas presents. The survey found that 20% of those questioned were ‘very confident’ that they had the right amount of home contents cover, but revealed that many people actually do not.
Whereas 75% of home insurance customers have contents insurance, only 7.5% of policies have unlimited cover for their contents. This means that expensive presents may not be covered up to the full amount in the event of a burglary.
The head of insurance at M&S, David Wells, said that it’s easy to forget the need for home security at Christmas time, but that this time of year provides “rich pickings” for thieves.
M&S has now released a number of tips for keeping your home and presents secure at Christmas time, the full details of which can be found here.
