Too many burglar alarms not being set

Householders risk seeing their insurance claims rejected simply by failing to activate their burglar alarms.
A third of people who have these alarms on their properties do not set them every time they leave home, according to a recent study. There are large regional variations within this figure – more than three-quarters of Londoners do always set their alarms, but nearly half of people in the north-east of England don’t.
Some home-insurance policies come with lower premiums for properties where alarms are installed. Because of this, a homeowner who makes a claim following a burglary might find the insurance company less than willing to pay out fully if it turned out the alarm wasn’t set at the time of the break-in.
Ian Williams, of Ocean Finance, which commissioned the survey, said: “Despite nearly half of us having burglar alarms installed at home, a third admit they do not always use them.
“Having a functional alarm – particularly if it is an approved standard – could help to lower your home insurance premium and save you money, as well as keeping your home safe. However, it’s not much use if you never set it.”