So unfortunately yesterday our house was burgled, and apart from leaving a sour taste in my mouth, I have decided to expedite my plans for home security.
First thing first though - they took the spare key to our 2015 Hyundai ix35. Have called the dealer who have quote $1800 for replacement set (barrel and 2 keys) + labour.
A couple of question about this:
1) I've had a quick look over the net but not sure if I'm using the right keywords - are there any options other than the dealer (ie. an auto locksmith) that can do this job, quite possibly cheaper.
2) If we do just go with the dealer, which could cost $2k (flapping bastard thieves), insurance excess is $795. I've run a dummy quote and added in one insurance claim. The quoted premium was only ~$17 more than what we paid for our premium last (back in October). To me, with such a small increase of premiums, and saving $1,200 by only paying the excess, it seems like a no-brainer to go the insurance route, but am wondering if anyone knows if their might be anything I'm missing.
Onto the next part of the heading, alarms/CCTV. Now I've had a look at a few sites, but all seem to be vendors than want to put you on a monthly monitoring plan. In my head, I would like an alarm that I can chuck in a SIM that can message my phone, that is also resilient with cats (2) in the house. I figure if I go something like this, as well as install cameras in the house, I could be notified, check the cameras and if I see an intruder, can act accordingly.
PS. Sorry, I know some of this may be answered elsewhere, but between trying to organise other things, as well as insurance and police, my minds just a bit full, so would appreciate any help answering my tailored questions.
Yes it may be more of an upfront cost than a monitoring arrangement, but I believe it will provide the same benefit as a monitoring service without the ongoing cost, so for the next question:
3) Can anyone recommend a security alarm (possibly multiple sensors) that is OK with cats and that you can setup to contact yourself without the ongoing cost of a monitoring service.
On the next note, has anyone ever used this Swann kit.
I've seen a bit of negativity on WP, but it seems to have enough value for money and it would be just as much about confirming an intruder is there, rather than identification (I mean chuck on a balaclava and a CCTV provides no help identifying).
On a lighter note, the D head stole one of our credit cards and chose to use it at 3 of the local shops (about 5 transactions at the Woolies). Cops are in the process of getting CCTV footage so hopefully they can catch this creep.
home contents insurance may not cover the replacement of your car keys..
there is a grey area for this, and your car insurance wont do it either and knowingly that the keys are no longer in your possession and if your car gets stolen the insurance wont cover you if they can prove you did not provide the necessary mean to prevent the vehicle from being stolen.
this was a few years ago and things may have changed.