Home insurance should be at the top of a household’s wish list this Christmas to protect their presents from seasonal thieves, M&S Money has warned.

Every year sees a marked increase in the number of burglaries during November, December and January, as opportunistic thieves know that new and potentially expensive Christmas gifts will be in abundance.

More than a third of households put their gifts under the Christmas tree well in advance of the event, which M&S home insurance says can act as a beacon to thieves on the look out for a good haul, and only seven per cent wait until Christmas morning, so security should be a priority.

The increased value of property stored in their homes around Christmas requires extra vigilance from households, and while 75 per cent of UK homes have home contents insurance, less than a quarter say that they are ‘very confident’ about what is covered by their home insurance policy, so many could be leaving themselves open to loss if they are the victim of burglary.

Furthermore, only 7.5 per cent of providers offer unlimited contents insurance, so policyholders should ensure they have adequate protection.

M&S home insurance is one of the providers offering unlimited cover for home contents, so customers are never underinsured for their Christmas presents.

David Wells, head of M&S insurance, said: “At Christmas it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the season and forget about home security. However, we all know there are criminals who see this time of the year as providing them with rich pickings.”

“Christmas should be a fun time of the year. By making sure you have adequate home insurance you can enjoy festivities in the knowledge that the contents of your home are protected should the worst happen,” Mr Wells added.

M&S home insurance urges householders to take precautions to avoid becoming victims of theft this Christmas, such as keeping expensive presents out of view, closing curtains to obscure a potential thief’s view of the presents, fitting timer switches to the lights and contacting their home insurance provider to inform them of any expensive presents in the home.

Households should also be wary of leaving the packaging outside for the bin lorry, alerting thieves to the contents inside the house, and should improve home security with adequate door and window locks, making for a happy Christmas.

© Fair Investment Company Ltd 

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