High-Tech Burglary Prevention for the Holidays 

High-Tech Burglary Prevention for the Holidays

With the holidays approaching, it’s time to think about burglary prevention. You may expect to have multiple high value items taking up residence in your home thanks to holiday gift giving, or plan to be absent for days or weeks visiting family. While there are plenty of common sense tips out there to help deter burglars, the modern age of technology offers many burglary prevention gadgets to make your home an even less attractive target.

High-Tech Security

According to ex-burglars, a home security system is the best way to help prevent a break-in. Smarter tech means smarter homes – which means smarter security. Today’s home security options include phone apps which mean you can watch your house in real time from anywhere, and get regular updates or urgent alerts instantly when devices are triggered.

Smart Home Hubs

Google Home, Amazon Echo, Netatmo and SmartThings are just a few companies now creating smart home hubs. These all-in-one gadgets can turn your lights on and off from afar, regulate house temperature, notify you of an opened door or window, alert you to smoke, carbon monoxide, and water leaks, and even tell you if someone is ringing your doorbell from miles away. Integrating home security into your smart home hub can help make your home safer year-round.

Digital Door Locks

Smart locks for your doors can eliminate the ability to pick a mechanical lock. By requiring a fingerprint or a special code, suddenly your house is transformed into a cutting-edge safe that must be hacked. This cuts down the field of burglars able to gain entry by a significant number. Need your neighbor to feed the cat while you’re away on vacation. Just give them an access code or send a scannable QR code to their phone so they can enter without setting off alarms.

Better Cameras

Indoor/outdoor cameras can now monitor gates, doors, and windows; detect motion (even in the dark), and provide facial recognition so you can know if the alert being sent is about a neighbor checking your mail for you, or a would-be intruder. Some app companies even have workarounds to turn unused iphones/ipads into a security system, accessible via your home wi-fi network (you can also use android phones as video cameras.)

Automated Lighting

The number of things you can do to protect your home with simple light bulb tech is amazing. You can set up smart lights that turn on and off on a timer, by command via a phone app, or when triggered by motion on your front porch or someone ringing your doorbell. Lights going on will often send would be burglars running, and regular light activity can mask the fact that you aren’t at home.

These high-tech tips can help keep your belongings and your home safe during the holiday season. (A home security system could result in lower homeowners insurance premiums as well; ask your agent if your home qualifies.) Choose one or two items from this list to implement, and enjoy peace of mind this holiday season.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form a part of, replace, change or amend any terms, conditions, provisions or language within your Olympus Insurance policy. We encourage you to read your entire policy.