Many of us hold onto family heirlooms as a way of connecting to the past—they hold fragments of our collective stories and memories of loved ones. Others like to build their own collection with treasures and rare vintage items from antique stores, estate sales and other sources. While your spread may not rival the famous crown jewels, you still want to keep your valuables safe from accidents and theft. After all, even some of the crown jewels mysteriously disappeared!
There are several things you can and should do to protect your most prized possessions from damage and theft: invest in home security systems, bolster your storage and conduct a homeowners insurance quotes comparison with CoverHound to ensure that your policy covers all of your possessions.
Smart Storage
Is great-great-grandma’s ring sitting in a jewelry box on top of your dresser? Is your vintage coin collection on full display on your living room bookshelf? Unfortunately, these are no-nos when it comes to storing valuables. You want to make it as difficult for a stranger to access your prized possessions as possible! Here are other hiding places to avoid, according to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors:
− Anywhere moist or wet (without serious waterproofing)
− A desk drawer, nightstand or dresser drawer (too obvious)
− Inside DVD cases (these may be stolen and pawned)
− A file cabinet (too easy to pick the locks)
− A wall safe (a serious burglar could take it to go)
Instead, invest in a heavy floor safe (that’s also fireproof) or scatter your valuables in more creative spots, like in hollowed-out books, false bottoms of plant pots or inside a container in the freezer. Just make sure to waterproof your items first—and remember where they are!
Home Security Systems
Sometimes protecting your valuables means deterring burglars before they can even think about swiping anything. Installing a home security system complete with deadbolts, an alarm (preferably with automatic law enforcement notification), cameras and automatic motion lights goes a long way in warding off intruders.
Bonus: Beefing up your home security can even earn you a discount on homeowners insurance because it reduces the risk of you needing to make a claim.
Homeowners Insurance
The last line of defense in protecting your items of value is a homeowners insurance policy that covers the worth of your possessions. At the very least, if something does end up stolen or damaged by a covered event (like a fire), your insurer will compensate you for the replacement cost of said item—or the actual cash value, depending on how you structure your policy.
It’s easy to put off protecting your valuables by envisioning the chance of damage or theft being highly unlikely. But you don’t want to look back after an accident and think “should have, would have, could have…”
Now is the time to Invest in smarter storage and upgrade your home’s security. CoverHound can help you with the rest. See how your homeowners insurance quotes compare today!
Insurance shopping simplified
Insurance shopping simplified
