Protect your home while you're away

With summer holidays just around the corner, many of us will be leaving our homes for a well-earned break. Just make sure you don't leave your home valuables to thieves while you're away. 

Alert the neighbours

Tell your neighbours when you'll be away, how long you'll be away for, and leave them a contact number to get hold of you if they see any suspicious behaviour.

Clear that letterbox

An overflowing letterbox is a sure sign there's no-one home. So put your newspaper subscription on hold and contact NZ Post to have your mail held while you are away. If you don't get around to doing all that, you can always ask your neighbours to clear your mail every couple of days.

Shine a light

Leave the curtains open and the blinds pulled up, but don't leave your house in the dark at night. You can buy cheap timers to connect to lamps, so they'll come on in the evenings. If you want to really upgrade your security, smart home technology lets you pre-programme lights to switch on and off, and even control blinds and garden irrigation. 

Ring ring

If you have a landline at your place, turn down the ringer volume. A phone that rings and rings without being answered is a clear sign there’s nobody at home.

Locked and closed

Before you leave, do a final check that all doors and windows are closed and locked. Make sure garages and garden sheds are also locked. Ladders and tools that could be used to break into the house need to be stored away. Leave a spare key with a neighbour - not hidden under a stone where it can be found easily.

No notes

Never leave notes on your door. Even if you can't see the front door from the street, you really don't want to advertise that you're not at home. 

No posts

It's a good idea to wait until you're home before you start posting pictures of your holiday on social media. You'd be surprised at how much information criminals can piece together about where you live from your social media accounts, and if they know you're on holiday, they also know your house is empty.

Check your policies

As well as making sure your home is secure, it's also important to check your house insurance and contents insurance policies are up to date.

And if you've splashed out on high value Christmas presents, check whether you need these to be individually listed on your policy. When listing these items, put down as much detail as possible to make claim time easier.