If you’re jetting off to catch some winter sun make sure you don’t put Christmas-time criminals in the know.
Social media posts of beautiful beaches or snowy scenes abroad might be more alluring to festive felons than friends and family – giving them the opportunity to target your home and belongings.
Potentially insurers could argue that you’ve not taken reasonable care to protect your property from risk while you’re away because you’ve advertised it as empty on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Suggestions that such posts could invalidate home insurance claims might be considered extreme, but insurers and insurance brokers, such as Sharrocks, advise clients it is best to keep that information private until you’re back home.
If you’re a parent, there’s a good chance you’ve had nightmares about waking up on Christmas morning and finding out you’ve been burgled. Or that your home might be targeted in the run up to the big day.
So, as well as all the usual security checks, it’s also wise not to publicise shopping sprees or piles of presents under Christmas trees.
Sharrocks’ Managing Director, Alan Doucy, said: “We don’t want to teach you to suck eggs, but there are some simple steps you can take to ensure you’re as safe as possible online – which will help make sure you’re protected in real life.
“Remove location services on your phone, don’t check in while you’re out and about and make sure your social media profiles have the right privacy settings.
“If there’s anyone you don’t trust they probably shouldn’t be on your friends list in any case – and remember, if someone tags you in a post while you’re out people on their friends list can see it too.
“You can also do a privacy healthcheck by searching for yourself online to see if private information is being shared.
“Being burgled is an awful, awful experience, don’t add to that headache by putting a question mark over your insurance cover with unnecessary social media posts – it’s not worth the risk.”
