Preventative measures.

Household theft claims have fallen in recent years, partly due to better security. Steve Banner investigates insurers' attitudes to theft prevention.

With burglar alarm boxes fast joining satellite dishes as typical
adornments of suburban homes, there is perhaps a danger that mundane
physical security - good-quality door locks, bolts and chains, not to
mention effective window locks - will be neglected by householders.


A front door secured with a cheap lock will fly open if it is kicked hard
enough, and if a thief knows you are out at work then he might take the
chance of the alarm going off and smash his way in.


That is why insurers often