by Office of Governor Patrick

The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) has provided guidance to property owners in a bid to aid them to make their houses a lot more secure against the threat of burglary.

This instruction has come on the back of investigation that was carried out by Eircom, searching into property security.

Property owners looking to reduce their home insurance premiums will be interested in the findings, as individuals who have to make a claim since they have been the victims of a house burglary, will end up having to pay higher insurance premiums.

The research observed that thieves are at their most prevalent at this time of the year in the run up to Christmas, with a big majority of house robberies occurring when men and women pop out of the house for only a brief space of time, for example, when parents are on the school run with their youngsters.

The IIF have therefore released some straightforward actions that men and women can follow to make their properties far more secure, which contain creating certain that exterior window and doorframes are in very good problem and will not give way beneath force.

Windows must never be left open when people are not in the home, not even when they are nipping out for a short time. Burglars are attracted by unlocked windows, ones that have been left open and keys that have been left in ‘hiding’ locations, like beneath a mat.

They also advise fitting mortise bolts to all external doors and particular locks to patio doors. Window locks need to also be fitted and utilized frequently.

Items that may possibly aid intruders to acquire access to a property, like ladders and other tools, must usually be securely locked away and a lock ought to be fitted to side gates to prevent thieves from gaining access to the back of a property, out of the sight of passers by.

Most burglaries will see the thieves acquire entry to the property through a rear window or back doors according to the findings from the research.

Very good outdoor lighting will also discourage burglars, with sensor lights and fluorescent lamps becoming very good low cost options. Intruder alarms must also be installed, as far more than 90 per cent of properties that are burgled, do not have an alarm program.          

The investigation discovered that on average, about €3,000 worth of possessions are taken by thieves throughout an typical break-in, with the most likely items to be stolen becoming pieces of jewellery.

The Big 20: Tips to Help Reduce Car Insurance Quotes Part Two 11-20

In the previous part of this article I covered ten ways to help reduce your car insurance quotes, despite petrol prices going down our insurance premiums continue to rise to the point of many of us questioning whether having a car is really worth it. 

Well help is at hand yet again, here are another ten tips and tricks to help bring your car insurance quotes back down to manageable levels.

11 – Avoid the soft top at all costs!  Soft top cars are an insurance nightmare; they’re easy to break into and tend to be higher performance vehicles.  You’re more likely to be hurt in an accident too so medical costs being claimed for are going to do you no favours come renewal time.

12 – Get extra qualified for driving by taking a pass plus course or an advanced driving course, by learning how to be safer and being able to drive more confidently in most situations you are proving to your <a onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.moneysupermarket.com/motor/”>car insurance</a> provider that you can be trusted not to wrap your car round a lamp post.

13 – Cut down on who is listed as a named driver on your car, the more people that drive a car the more risk there is and so premiums shoot up.  Fewer drivers, especially teenage drivers will typically bring your quotes down assuming you have a clean record yourself.

14 – Save money on