Irish people making it easy for burglars, warns AA, with over 26% hiding presents in wardrobes

The AA is warning Irish home owners to be more imaginative when it comes to hiding Christmas presents in order to reduce their risk of losing everything in the event of a burglary.

A recent AA Home Insurance study, found that over a quarter (26.6%) of Irish people hide Christmas presents in a wardrobe, while 22% choose the attic as their hiding spot. However, the organisation warned that that hiding presents in these popular spots could prove problematic in the event of a break-in as burglars will often check these locations first.

“Hiding your presents in obvious places, makes it easier for a burglar to make off with the best loot” warns Arwen Foley, Spokesperson for AA Home Insurance. Of course the best way, to prevent a burglary is to make sure you take every precaution possible in the first place, to keep them out of your home” advises Arwen Foley, AA Home Insurance Spokesperson. “Before I leave the house, I think of the AA’s home safety check list – ANGEL.”

A – Make sure your ALARM is functioning and turn it on before you leave.

N – Tell a NEIGHBOUR, if you’re leaving for a long period, so they can keep an eye on your home.

G – GLASS; check that all your windows are closed and locked before you leave.

E – EXITS; make sure all your external doors are locked.

L – Leave some LIGHTS on so that it looks like someone is home.

“Unfortunately, every year we hear horror stories of Christmas presents stolen from houses by heartless criminals and as an insurance company we can only try to make an awful situation a little bit better. For example, with AA Home Insurance your contents sum insured is automatically increased in value by 10% for December and January to cover any stolen Christmas presents” says Arwen.

The AA study of over 2,500 people, also found that 18% were planning on hiding their Christmas presents in work or in a friend or family members house. “While this may be a good plan, if you’re trying to keep them from snooping children, the problem may occur on Christmas Eve when you collect the presents. You can’t bring them into the house until the children are asleep but leaving them in the car is a very bad idea. An opportunistic burglar could smash the window and grab the gifts or if you happen to leave the car unlocked, they could make off with everything in a mater of seconds” warns Arwen.

With the Christmas season in mind, where do you plan on hiding your presents to ensure they are not found by your children and/or partner?

Based on 2,569 responses to an AA Home Insurance survey undertaken in November/December 2018.