How to protect a home against lock bumping |
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Unfortunately, these premium locks also carry a premium price tag, especially when the fees charged by the professional locksmiths that install them are factored in. The hardware alone starts at around $100 per lock and goes up from there.
Security
systems
Erez recommends upgrading your locks to a bump-proof design, but cautions against relying entirely on any type of lock.
"Locks are just one part of the total security picture," says Erez. "There are so many ways to get into a free-standing, private home: windows, garages, patio doors."
Instead, Erez recommends thinking of security in terms of providing a deterrent to potential thieves. One such deterrent is a security system, announced by a sign in the front yard. Or even the sign with no alarm at all. Extra lighting in key spots around the home and a family dog can also help.
"It's a mental thing," he says. "If someone wants to break in, put as many things in his way as you can. He'll most likely move on to another house."
Also, it's important to remember that many thieves don't even bother picking a lock when robbing a home. Lock bumping is irrelevant if a potential thief would rather use a crowbar or a swift kick than a bump key and a rubber mallet.
Home
insurance
There is one surefire way to protect against big losses in a burglary
that doesn't involve any cutting-edge equipment or security know-how:
a good insurance policy. Most providers of homeowner and renter
insurance will pay for a loss even if, as is the case with locks
that have been "bumped," there are no signs of forced
entry.
"A theft is a theft. A loss is a loss,"
says Mike Siemienas, a spokesman for insurance giant Allstate, "as
long as it's covered under your policy. Our policy is that you as
a customer don't have to prove that someone broke into your house."
Kip Diggs, a State Farm representative, agreed. "It's
very unlikely that we would reject a claim based on that."
Check your policy to make sure yours will pay regardless of how the thieves got in. For those that choose to upgrade to bump-resistant locks, it's worth a call to your insurance company to see if they would offer you a discount for installing higher-quality locks in your home. For the record, State Farm and Allstate currently do not offer a discount beyond a generic one for deadbolt locks. According to Mike Barry, media relations director at the Insurance Information Institute, it's unlikely insurance companies would offer a premium discount for a specific brand of lock.
With little evidence available that lock bumping is common practice among thieves, the security threat to the average residence is, at this point, largely theoretical. Still, the probable spread of the expertise and tools required for lock bumping may make it a bigger concern in the future. Those most in danger may be lock makers themselves, who may one day face class-action lawsuits filed by customers angry about the possibility that some companies have known about this flaw in their products for decades -- and done nothing about it.
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