Audrey 
If you’re a part of the 18.21 million U.S. citizens that travel abroad yearly, counting down the days until you’re vacationing can be an exciting time for you and your family. Yet, when the day arrives, you don’t want to carry the extra baggage of anxiety, worry, and fear surrounding keeping your property and belonging safe while you’re vacationing.
One of the top fears for vacationing homeowners is that potential burglars will view your vacant property as an open invitation to take your belongings or deface your property. Therefore, we’ve created this article outlining several tips to prevent this, including checking your home insurance and locking up your valuables. Keep reading to find out more.
Check Your Home Insurance
Before going abroad, you should check your home insurance to reassure yourself that you have the coverage you need and that it’s valid for the duration of your vacation. While it is a no-brainer that there are different levels of home insurance, many loopholes can render the policy void if you’re not diligent.
Whether you have a non-family member house-sitting while you’re away or are planning to be away from home for several days – there are many exclusions you don’t want to fall victim to while you’re away. At the same time, your current policy might not have enough coverage, so you should consider switching to a more all-encompassing provider like The Hartford. From insurance policies to protect your home to those that protect your RV, consider visiting their website or contacting them directly to learn more about their policies.
Keep Your Valuables Secure
Another way you can ensure your house and belongings are protected is by keeping your valuables secure, safe, and out of sight to avoid attracting the attention of potential criminals. Although it would be ideal if you didn’t leave any loose valuables in the property, we understand that sometimes it can be unavoidable.
Since most criminals are opportunists and like to escape the crime scene as soon as possible, your best option is to hide your valuables around the property in hard-to-find places while leaving a few inexpensive items in more obvious places. So, suppose your property is unlucky enough to get targeted by burglars. In that case, they are more likely to escape with a bundle of inexpensive items than a large pile of money or a coveted family heirloom since they are more likely to grab the first item of value they see rather than waste time turning your house upside down to find the real treasure.
Make Your House Look Occupied
One of the main reasons that criminals target houses is because they look unoccupied, alongside many others. Therefore, it is essential that you make your home look occupied to deter would-be criminals.
Fortunately, there are many ways that homeowners can make their property look occupied while they’re away, from leaving a hallway light on and leaving some curtains/blinds open to pausing delivery services and using self-watering systems to keep plants looking tended to. Although you might incur a slightly increased utility bill at the end of the month, we’re sure many homeowners would prefer forking out a little more than coming home to missing belongings and the feeling of your personal space being evaded.
As your vacation day comes around, and you are en route to your destination, you can rest assured knowing that your property is best protected as much as possible. Ultimately, you can enjoy your vacation.
