The holidays prompt a flurry of activity as gifts pile up under the tree.

With everything going on during the hectic holiday season, it's important to make sure your house and wrapped gifts aren't an easy lure for would-be burglars.

Consumer safety experts also say you should check the toys on your gift list -- as well as the toys your children or grandchildren rake in -- to make sure they haven't been recalled. And if you receive an expensive gift -- jewelry, computer or electronics, artwork, or the like -- the insurance industry says you should determine whether it would be covered under your homeowners or renters insurance policy.

If you plan on traveling or leaving your home for any extended period of time over the holiday season, experts say to be sure your house isn't an open invitation to burglars.

About one-fourth of all burglaries happen during the winter months, according to the FBI. Residential burglaries accounted for 65.8 percent of all reported burglaries in 2002; a third of those taking place during November, December and January.

Insurance companies pay more than $1 billion in homeowners insurance claims a year. The average burglary loss is $1,381, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).

"We've seen the number of burglaries nationally rise slightly in past years," said Alejandro Soto, an III spokesperson. "The struggling economy has influenced that to some extent. Add the surge in consumer spending that accompanies the holidays and it is a recipe for greater vulnerability and risk."

The III recommends:

• Keeping your house well-lit.
• Locking doors and windows. Install dead-bolts on all exterior doors.
• Installing a burglar alarm.
• Making sure you have strong doors.
• Trimming shrubbery.
• Hiding valuables.
• Turning off your computer and disconnecting it from the Internet. Make sure any personal information is difficult to access.

If you'll be traveling during the holidays, arrange to have your mail and packages picked up, forwarded or held by the post office. Suspend your newspaper subscription. The III also says you should leave your blinds or curtains in their usual spot, making it look like you're home. And, regardless of what time of year you travel, ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on your house.

And when it comes to those expensive gifts, you'll want to break out your insurance policy and read the fine print.

"Don't assume that the new plasma television or designer jewelry is automatically protected under your homeowners or renters insurance policy," said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. "High-end items may exceed your current policy limits. Read your policy to be sure that expensive gifts have the coverage they need, or consult your insurance agent."

Expensive jewelry, art and electronics are usually covered by a floater policy, which provides additional coverage for items that exceed the specified limits of a policy.

Meanwhile, if there are kids in your gift-giving circle, the Consumer Product Safety Commission encourages you to make the sure the toy you are eyeing isn't on its list of items recalled because they pose safety hazards.

The CPSC has issued recalls for hundreds of toys. A new federal inter-agency website is devoted to recalls of not only toys and consumer products but also motor vehicles, boats, food, medicine, cosmetics, and environmental products. From the website you can look up a general toy topic to determine if there have been any recent recalls on the toy in question.

Published: December 22, 2003

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