There is usually a dramatic rise in home insurance claims at this time of year, with Halloween seeing more incidents of vandalism and malicious damage to the home than any other day of the year.*

Rachael Stiles, home insurance spokesperson for fairinvestment.co.uk, said: “If you don’t intend to treat the tricksters when they come to your door, then it might be best to just go out for the evening. Or, local councils are providing posters available for download from their websites, informing callers that you are not participating in Halloween and that they should move onto the next house. But, arguably, this could just be asking for trouble.”

While most trick or treaters will be happy to walk away with a few sweets or some other treat, it is important to be prepared for the odd trickster who’s not satisfied with their haul of treats or is simply out to cause mischief in the name of Halloween.

Miss Stiles continued: “To be on the safe side, remove any items from outside the home and put them somewhere secure, and put the car in the garage for the night or park it out of the way. Most importantly, make sure your insurance policy protects you against malicious damage, just in case you fall victim to a broomstick through the window or your garden gnome takes a walk.

“Whether you get in the spirit of things and stock up on sweets, or switch off the lights and just pretend you’re not in, make sure you take some precautions to help you get through Halloween without too many bumps in the night.”

* According to research from Norwich Union based on figures from Halloween 2006.