Tips for Florida Homeowners to Enhance Home Security

Here are 4 helpful tips you can use to enhance home security and keep your Florida home safer from break-ins this summer:

Ready for some startling home burglary facts? Every year, there are over 2.2 million burglaries in the US, 70% of which are home burglaries. This means there is a break-in every 15 seconds, and this number spikes during summer months – with almost half of all burglaries taking place in the Southern U.S.

1. Have a family meeting about how to enhance home security

Remind your children to:

• Always lock doors and windows, and keep track of their keys
• Don’t post pictures of valuable gifts and toys online
• Be vague about vacation plans on social media
• Never answer the door when you aren’t at home
• Keep their contact list of emergency numbers written on paper and on their person

2. Secure your entry points

You can make your home harder to break into by strengthening physical defenses, such as:

• Install solid core doors, buy heavy duty locks, and use long screws in lock plates
• Secure your sliding glass doors with sturdy pin-type locks, and put a rod of wood or metal in the track of your sliding doors or windows
• Lock double-hung windows using key locks and check them nightly and before you leave
• Make sure your garage door is secure, and always lock the door for the garage to the home interior
• If your home has skylights, make sure they also are secured from the inside to prevent entry

3. Secure your home when you are away

Always keep enhance home security and safety in the back of your mind, whether you are at home or away.

• Cover garage windows with obscuring film so no one can see if your car is inside or not, and keep garage door openers secure
• Consider a monitored home security system, and ask the company to train your whole family in how to use it
• Don’t allow strangers access to your home even if they say they are from a utility company unless you have a prior appointment set or can call and verify their identity
• If you are going out of town, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspapers, and set lights on a random system to turn on and off
• Install motion sensor lights, and allow your home security company to place signage – these steps alone can deter burglars from choosing your home

4. Protect your valuables

Now is a good time to talk to your homeowners insurance agent.

• Make a comprehensive home inventory list
• Review your insurance policies to make sure you have adequate personal property coverage, and ask your agent about any additional coverages that could benefit you
• If you have purchased new valuables recently, crush boxes and packaging and bury them in the trash
• Keep valuable items in a floor or wall safe if possible

These tips can help prevent your home from being an easy target for home burglary. Certain security options can also lead to discounts on your homeowners insurance, so ask your Olympus agent for details.