Four Quick Tips to Avoid Vandalism this Halloween

Most home and business property insurance policies include a type of insurance coverage for “Vandalism and Malicious Mischief”. This coverage aims to protect the policy holder from intentional defacement or deliberate physical damage to a property.

According to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), vehicle vandalism spikes on Halloween. The agency reviewed vandalism claims data from 2008 to 2012, and Halloween had the highest average number of claims by 81%.

With Halloween quickly approaching, now is the perfect time for a few quick tips to protect your property from vandalism. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

If you have a garage, use it.

Eggs can be particularly damaging to a vehicle – not only can they leave dents and scratches on your car, but if they’re allowed to dry they’re extremely hard to remove without sanding and repainting the damaged area. Parking your car in your garage and closing the door will prevent eggs, toilet paper, and all manner of potential prank projectiles from damaging your vehicle.

Turn on the lights.

Even if you’re not handing out candy, it’s a good idea to keep your lights on. Not only will this make it more difficult for vandals to access your property without being seen, it will also allow innocent trick-or-treaters to traverse the area around your home without fear of tripping or stumbling in the darkness.

Setup on the front porch.

If you are planning on handing out candy, hand out candy from your porch. This gives you a physical presence on your property and allows you to closely monitor your yard for pranksters.

Don’t leave your pumpkins outside.

If you have pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns decorating the exterior of your home, don’t leave them outside overnight. They make easy targets and a smashed jack-o-lantern can leave a big, slippery mess in your driveway. Put out any candles and bring them inside before closing your doors for the night.

Have a Halloween tip to share?

Hopefully the above tips will help to keep you and your property a little safer from vandalism this Halloween. If you have any Halloween tips to share be sure to leave it in the comment section below!

Happy Halloween!

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Darin Mohrman

Sales and Operations Manager, Personal Insurance at Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency

“Education is what you get from reading the fine print; experience is what you get from not reading it.“

I’m a former aspiring “ski-bum” turned insurance professional.I was licensed in 2002 and in 2013 I obtained my Certified Insurance Counselor (C.I.C.) designation. I'm married to an amazing woman, have a wonderful son and a cat.I enjoy travelling, music, craft beer, woodworking, collecting and restoring antique tools and all things computer and tech related.