3 effective ways to keep your priceless possessions safe when travelling abroad

In May 2015, London-based market intelligence and analysis firm released the results of a study which revealed that a worrying 70-75% of high net worth individuals were not adequately insured.

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Meanwhile, a further report focussing particularly on household contents insurance by Oakwood University, Alabama suggested that the number of wealthier individuals who didn’t have enough insurance coverage for their priceless possessions was actually as many as one in every five.

This should probably be troubling enough for most of us when we’re at home, especially as criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to carry out thefts. Yet with the time of year approaching when many owners of high value properties and home contents are ready to leave them behind for a while to enjoy their winter break, doesn’t this suggest that we all should be doing a little bit more keep our property out of the wrong hands?

If you’re concerned about what could happen to your most valued possessions whilst you’re travelling abroad, here’s just three effective ways to ensure their safety.

1) Meet with a personal security consultant

For those with more to protect, meeting with a personal security consultant can help you pinpoint specific areas where you and your family might be vulnerable to criminal activity. Along with a tour of your property – making recommendations wherever appropriate – they may also recommend new advancements in home security, taking your most value assets off site when you’re away, and even looking at how your existing technology could leave you vulnerable to cyber-crime.

2) Be social-smart

In today’s always online, constantly connected world, most of us can admit to using at least one social networking site, and when the time comes to finally get away on that much needed winter break, it’s all too tempting to share your excitement by updating your status to tell everyone about your latest outdoor adventure.

Not that this is ever a good idea. Indeed, whilst to your and loved ones this is nothing more than an innocent social media post, to those with more nefarious intentions, this is basically an open invitation to your unoccupied home, and everything in it.

In fact, you don’t even need to be so blatant as to obviously state that you’re not home whilst using social media on your holiday.  With geo-tagging (that is, broadcasting your location every time you post something) fast becoming the default setting on major platforms like Facebook and Twitter, something as simple as posting an image which reveals you’re actually thousands of miles away can be all the invitation a criminal needs. To prevent this, we’d first recommend being careful about the kind of things you post on social media during your winter break. It’s also a good idea to lock down your privacy settings, though even that doesn’t offer 100% security if someone is particularly determined to find out where you are.

It’s also a good idea to remove geotagging from your posts and pictures. We’ve found a helpful tutorial online which shows you how to do just that.

3) Have a strong authentication in place

As a high net worth individual, we don’t doubt that you’ve already got some impressive home security systems in place at your property, though as with most things in life, there’s always room for improvement.

If your security consultant doesn’t recommend a new system, they should at the very least be able to help you strengthen your existing one by providing better ways to create a completely indecipherable password. They should also be on hand to help you add a process called two-factor authentication to your home security, meaning that along with your existing password, a second method of access -such as a swipe card, chip, or even biometric data is needed before anyone can access those priceless possessions you’re determined to keep safe whilst enjoying your much-needed winter holiday.