Had a message forwarded to me that had to do with the securing your house and protecting your family. It said many individuals think that it never will happen to them because they consider the area they live in as safe.
They leave the entry doors, garage doors, and windows unlocked at night or when they go shopping. When they go on vacation they announce it to everyone on social media. They think no one but their “friends” will pay attention and nothing will happen while they are gone.
Many people in the winter warming up their vehicle before they go to work leave the doors unlocked with the key in the vehicle.
Personally I can observe daily women leaving their purses in the top of a shopping cart, turning their backs to the cart while just getting maybe a box of cereal, tending to their child that just demands their attention, or putting their groceries into the trunk of their vehicle.
There are several things you can do to safeguard your home and yourself.
First before you know what to safeguard you need to know what all you own. Not only for your personal knowledge but also for insurance purposes! When you don’t know what you own you can’t file a claim if the need arises. The best way to find out what you own is by getting a home inventory. One place to find a company that does home inventories is though the National Inventory Certification Association.
When you are leaving the house, do the obvious. Lock the doors, but also make sure that all your windows are secure as well. If you have an alarm system, set it! If you don’t have an alarm system consider investing in one. Many insurance companies give you a rate break when your home has an alarm.
Many of the older cars need to warm up especially in the winter when it is super cold and lot of them don’t come with a remote starter which helps to keep the vehicle secure. One option is to install an aftermarket remote starter that would give you the option to remotely start your vehicle without having to keep the key in the vehicle and you would not have to leave it unlocked.