SAGA — Doing things properly

Saga Holiday Home Insurance has produced a list of tips to help holiday homeowners protect and secure their property and its contents. Although not all these tips are essential, adopting just a few of these sensible and basic measures can give peace of mind knowing that positive steps have been taken to deter opportunist thieves and protect a home’s contents.

• Consider buying an alarm for your property.
• Consider security grills for doors and windows. This is often a good way to enable you to leave doors and windows open while you are occupying the property without posing a security risk, as your locked grills prevent unwanted access.
• Turn off electricity whenever you are absent for some time. Power cuts are more common in Spain than the UK and sometimes appliances may not switch themselves back on. If this happens to your fridge freezer for example then you may lose its contents or even end up with a leak.
• When turning off the electricity, ensure your alarm is on a separate circuit and is not affected.
• Turn off the water at the mains whenever you are absent for some time.
• Leave wardrobe doors slightly open. Humidity can result in mildew growth if there is no air circulation and this can damage clothing.
• Consider diverting your post or asking somebody to check it for you. If your letterbox or post box is seen to fill up, this can advertise the fact that your property is empty.
• Don't leave valuable items on show if windows or doors are open or ajar.
• Don't do anything that you wouldn't do in the UK. For example even if you just pop out for a swim or to see your neighbour, lock and secure your property correctly.