| The financial crisis has triggered a wave of robberies and thefts from apartments and houses in the capital region. Police statistics show that in January-March 2009, 266 robberies with entry into a home, 247 arsons and 10,608 various forms of theft were committed in the Moscow region. For comparison, in the same period last year, 224 robberies with entry, 231 arsons and 12,564 various thefts were committed. Is it possible to take any action to avoid being included in these sad statistics?
«The objects of attacks are mainly cottages. Often these crimes are committed by visitors from other regions of Russia, as well as from the CIS countries. Therefore, living in a country house requires the owner to constantly make efforts to ensure the safety of both himself and his family,» comments Sergey Vasilyevich Valov, head of the security company «SpetsMontazh». Mikhail Aleksandrovich Morochkov, head of the security department of the private security company «INKOM-Okhrana», talks about the need for an integrated approach to security.
At the same time, the specialist says: «The creation of a «security complex» for an individual household depends on many factors, but first of all, on its «attractiveness» to criminal structures. If funds allow, it is advisable to post one or more armed guard posts in the household. If an individual household is located in the area of action of the rapid response team of a private security company, then it is much cheaper to equip the house with a TSO (45-90 thousand rubles — one-time investment) and put it on remote security (subscription service 3.5 — 4 thousand rubles per month depending on the composition and number of rapid response team crews, weapons, etc.).»
Sergey Valov adds to his colleague: «The house should be surrounded by a reliable fence. At the same time, it is important, if possible, to reduce the number of entrances and exits, so as not to disperse security forces.» According to the specialist, barbed wire and video surveillance cameras can be installed on the fence.
Particular attention should be paid to lighting, which should not only illuminate the adjacent territory, but also not cast shadows from the objects located on it. According to Valov, safe doors are steel doors mounted on the same steel frame. At the same time, there should be at least two door locks. Moreover, they should have different designs, allowing them to be closed from both sides with keys.
At the same time, all windows up to the second floor should be equipped with bars. In addition, visual access to the building should be blocked by thick curtains or blinds closed at night. An alarm system, as well as smoke, gas leak and water leak detectors will not be superfluous. Additional security will be brought to the homeowner by stationary and portable buttons for calling the police or security.
The right choice of neighbors is also of great importance for safety. «If possible, neighbors should be chosen from the same economic and social status. It is good if they are just as serious about safety issues. Then, you can join forces with them in terms of taking collective safety measures,» notes Sergey Valov in this regard, emphasizing the importance of having a guard dog in the yard.
However, if all the measures taken do not help and the robbers still break into your home, then it is better to act according to a previously developed plan.
«If robbers break into your home and threaten to physically harm you (especially children), you should try to remain calm as much as possible and comply with their demands (or at least pretend to intend to comply with their demands). And then act according to the situation, for example, if the house is equipped with a TSO, you should try to discreetly press the panic button. You can organize «decisive» resistance on your own only if the homeowner has special training, has a self-defense weapon and knows how to use it,» advises Mikhail Morochkov in this case.
Moreover, it is worth remembering that along with preventing a crime, you can also minimize its consequences if they could not be avoided and they still occurred. In this case, we are talking about insurance.
«The insurance covers damage resulting from illegal actions of third parties, which can be classified in accordance with Russian legislation as intentional destruction or damage to property, hooliganism, vandalism, burglary, robbery, robbery,» comments Artem Iskra, Director of the Department of Insurance of Individuals at ROSNO.
At the same time, his colleague Ekaterina Usenovna Yusupalieva, head of the property insurance sector of the Comprehensive Insurance Department of Ingosstrakh, notes that now you can insure your property against such risks as fire, explosion, water damage, mechanical damage, illegal actions of third parties, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
Moreover, you can insure both the entire house and individual structures, «right down to the fence and gates,» notes Ekaterina Yusupalieva in this regard. According to Ekaterina, rates for insuring suburban real estate range from 0.3 to 1.4% of the insured amount. Artem Iskra names the base rate of 0.4 — 1.1% for buildings worth up to 1.5 million rubles, and 0.3 — 0.75% for buildings worth over 1.5 million rubles. Against this background, the cost of the insurance itself is far from the most important thing. It is important to approach the choice of an insurer as seriously as possible, to make sure of its reliability. At the same time, the cost of insurance should not be the determining factor.
It is necessary to decide on the choice of product in advance. These can be express programs (without inspection and cost calculation), which will significantly save the client's time when concluding an insurance contract, although they will have restrictions on payments, and classic products that provide insurance against both standard and specific risks, including inspection and assessment of the insured object.
«It is important to carefully read the risks and the payment procedure (especially for documents that will confirm the property interest of the beneficiary) and exceptions to them,» Artem Iskra advises in this case. At the same time, Ekaterina Yusupalieva advises insuring real estate for a full package of risks, since it is quite difficult to foresee what your property may suffer from.
«Don't try to save on insurance in every possible way, «the price of the issue» in any case will be hundreds of times less than the possible losses,» she adds in this regard. Her words are confirmed by the same statistics. According to Artem Iskra, insurance payments make up from 45% to 70% of receipts for the above types of insurance. Yusupalieva Ekaterina testifies to approximately 30% of the occurrence of insurance events from the total volume of concluded contracts.
It should be borne in mind that the cost of insurance is affected by the degree of protection of the house. The presence of video surveillance, security alarm, fire safety system is taken into account when concluding an insurance contract and reduces the amount of insurance premiums.
PRO Real Estate |
