1. Increase your voluntary excess payment. The higher the excess you are willing to pay, the lower your premium. This can be as much as 20 per cent with some companies for as little as £250 excess. This is worth checking as some companies ‘forget’ to mention this fact.

2. Think carefully about the add-ons you need. For instance, do you really need accidental damage cover? This can increase premiums by 25 per cent. Don't claim unless you need to. The fewer the claims, the higher your no claims discount.

3. Consider installing CCTV cameras. Insurers believe that these deter opportunist burglaries and they could also reduce your premium.

4. Consider security fittings for any valuable pieces of art.

5. Take photographs and serial numbers of all valuables and use some kind of security code or magic marker. Alternatively, forensic solutions such as SmartWater, which is a colourless liquid solution that is simply dabbed onto uneven surfaces of your valuables. Each bottle is registered to your address. The liquid cannot be easily seen by the naked eye and once dry is virtually impossible to remove. This liquid glows under ultraviolet light – allowing the police to identify the true owner of the property.

6. Alternatively, buy an invisible marker pen and put your post code on the back of any valuable items.

7. If you have expensive items of garden machinery such as garden tractors etc. paint numerous small white, snow-flake type blobs on the bonnet etc. This will deter thieves as the machinery will be too recognisable and too bothersome to respray. As an alternative use a small stencil of your choice, dog paws for example. This will have same effect and look more decorative. Definitely a talking point!

8. Get all outside doors fitted with good key-operated security locks and bolts. Front doors should be solid and have five-lever mortice deadlocks fitted. Don't forget locks to your windows. Most new windows come with these ready fitted, but DIY shops have a selection of window locks that are easy to install.

9. Plant prickly shrubs around the perimeter of the house to deter thieves. Flimsy trellises at the top of a fence also deter thieves because they make it harder to climb. Gravel driveways and paths are noisy and almost act as a burglar alarm.

10. Consider installing motion-activated or dawn-to-dusk lights at the front and back of your home - these will welcome you home and deter prowlers.

11. Make sure a thief cannot open your door by putting an instrument or a hand through the letterbox and reaching for the release mechanism - install a security cover or a cage inside the letterbox to catch post. If you need to keep the key to your mortice lock readily available for your own use, put it out of sight and reach of any opportunist.

12. Do you have a dog? Even a small dog that barks at strange noises has been known to deter intruders.

13. When it comes to both insuring and selling your house and if you house has been underpinned in the past, you will need to get a current report from a Consultant Structural Engineer as to the present state of your property. A quick search under Google should give you the names of Consultants in your area. One item to check is his qualifications. He will need to hold either a FICE or MICE. These are two qualifications that are acceptable to both building societies and insurance companies.

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