The best way to avoid having to make a home insurance claim is through loss prevention methods that help avoid the issue in the first place.
Loss prevention when it comes to your house can mean a lot of things (e.g. staying private on social media, properly maintaining your furnace etc,.) but it starts beyond the perimeter of your property.
Let’s discuss 5 things potential burglars can learn about you and your home from the side of the road.
1\ YOU OWN NEW VALUABLES
Something we often don’t think about is how the boxes left out for recycling can broadcast to anyone walking by what we’ve recently purchased.
Imagine someone is scoping out the homes in your neighbourhood the night before recycling day. It stands to reason that the home with an empty TV box at the side of the road could become a prime target.
Police departments throughout Canada, like the Winnipeg Police Service, have been warning residents of this tactic for years.
TIP: Wait until the morning to put out recycling to limit how many people notice the boxes.
2\ WHERE DO YOU STORE YOUR MOST VALUABLE OR PRECIOUS ITEMS
In the same way that empty boxes can let looky-loo’s know exactly what you’ve recently purchased, empty security-safe packaging can also let them know there are likely valuables worth protecting (and thus, stealing) stored inside your home.
Depending on the type of packaging it may even show them exactly what to look for as they’re sleuthing through your home.
TIP: Turn the boxes inside out to show the plain brown inside rather.
3\ SENSITIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
You may be inadvertently putting yourself at risk with smaller items as well.
Clear recycling bags help make municipal workers and programs run smoother but they can also expose personal information about you if you’re not careful if certain papers are visible.
- Full names
- Client contact information
- Account numbers
- Medical details
These are all things that could be learned about you if you’re not careful with what you’re putting by the side of the road.
By the way in case you’re wondering, it’s entirely legal in Canada to go through someone’s garbage as long as it’s no longer on private property.
TIP: Use a cross-cut shredder to destroy sensitive documents before bagging and putting them out for recycling. It’s not 100% foolproof but it would take a super-motivated criminal with a lot of time on their hands to piece the puzzles back together.
4\ EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER SAVED ON YOUR COMPUTER
Speaking of the fact that it’s legal to look through someone’s garbage, this means that if you put an old computer or hard drive at the side of the road, that’s also up for grabs.
If you didn’t wipe it first, think of all the photos, documents and other sensitive ways some clever criminal could learn about you by getting their hands on an old hard drive.
TIP: Never dispose of old hard drives before they’re completely wiped, and when you do dispose of them, do so at a proper electronic recycling facility rather than the side of the road. The environment will thank you too.
5\ WHAT KIND OF SECURITY SYSTEM DO YOU OWN (AND HOW TO GET AROUND IT)
Any packaging or papers related to your security system should be destroyed.
If you leave information about the make and model of your security equipment by the road this could lead to someone learning how to disarm or avoid the system if they want to get into your home.
TIP: Keep your cards close to your chest by limiting the number of people who know about your security system in general.
We hope this has been more interesting and informative than terrifying!
No there’s likely not a series of people going through this amount of effort to infiltrate your life and home (unless you’re Breaking Bad or laundering money in the Ozarks), but the reality is that it HAS happened before, WILL happen again and it doesn’t take much effort to help make sure you’re not the next victim.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
