Maximize Security. Reduce False Alarms.
- Have your alarm system installed by licensed professionals with a record for quick service.
- Avoid false alarms by teaching everyone with a key to your home how to set and deactivate the system. Also provide them with the monitoring company’s phone number and your pass code.
- Assign a close neighbour or friend as your emergency contact when you are away.
- Test your system monthly and schedule annual maintenance by a qualified technician.
Additional Home Safeguards
- Property identification also deters thieves. Engravers are inexpensive and available at hardware stores. In some communities local police or community policing stations can lend you an engraver free of charge. Engrave your valuables with your driver’s license number in a discreet location on the item (ideally inside a casing so that thieves are less likely to simply sand the engraving off). If your belongings are stolen and then recovered, the engraving proves ownership. For jewellery and small items, use videotape or photos for proof of ownership.
- Reinforce door knob locks with a deadbolt or interlocking bolt lock and affix the strike plate with 3" to 3 ½" screws. The best deadbolts are solid metal, with a minimum 1" bolt, a cylinder guard and are installed with hardened steel screws. Ensure the hinge pins of your exterior doors are on the inside.
- Brace sliding doors and windows with a snug-fitting metal bar or sturdy dowel inserted in the bottom track. Bottom slide bolts also thwart forced entry. To prevent doors from being lifted out of frames, insert metal screws or shims along the top track.
- Store away tools and ladders so thieves can’t use them to break in.
- Use automatic garage door openers to get you safely inside the garage. And treat your opener like a house key; take it with you when you exit the vehicle.
Broker Advantage The members of the Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. have supported various home safety and security initiatives in communities throughout B.C.
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