Home Security: Checklist Helps You Find, Fix Safety Risks

Have you been paying attention to the increasing cost of homeowner's insurance?

Most of us believe there is nothing we can do to save money other than increasing our deductible. Not true. We can save money and make our homes more secure at the same time.

Take a look outside

Here are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your home is secure:

Walk around the outside of your home.

• Are there trees or structures that someone could climb to enter your house?
• Are there bushes a burglar could hide in, next to a window or door?
• Is your phone line exposed outside of the siding, inviting a burglar to disable your ability to call 911?
• Do you have motion lights in vulnerable areas such as the back of the house or the garage?
• If you have an attached garage, is the interior door locked?
• Looking in the house from outside, do window coverings conceal valuable contents from prying eyes?
• While locked, push on your doors from the outside. Are they firmly secure? Is there play in the lock mechanism or doorframe?
• Could a burglar break a window in your door, reach in, and unlock the door themselves?
• Can you slide a credit card into your door lock and unlock it without a key?
• Are your window locks secure?
• In the past year, have you cleaned the dryer vent from the outside all the way to the back of the machine?
• Is there a fire hydrant located near your home?
• Is your street light working?
• If you have a nearby storm drain, is it free of debris?

Check out the inside

Now let's go inside the home and walk around again.

• Do you have a smoke detector on each floor and one in the furnace room?
• Do you have a fire extinguisher on each floor?
• Where is cigarette smoking allowed? Never in a bedroom.
• Do you have a fire ladder in your second-story bedrooms?
• Have you changed your smoke detector batteries in the past year?
• Do you have an alarm system that will detect door and window openings, windows being broken, sump-pump failure, temperature problems, fire, phone line trouble or power outages?
• Do you have a fire escape plan for your family from every room in the house?
• Are household chemicals located out of children's reach?
• Are emergency walkways and exits clear of clutter?

Using this checklist, take the necessary steps to better secure your home. Then, call your insurance company and inform it of the things you are doing. If you're not sure what to do, you might consider calling a professional.

Note, most companies will provide as much as a 20% discount on your insurance if you have an alarm system that monitors your home.

Copyright 2003 Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) All Rights Reserved Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) May 3, 2003 Saturday, BYLINE: Carl Black, Freelance OK, Carl Black is a certified, central-station dispatcher with Dyck Security Services & Alarm in Port Huron.