Securing Your Holiday Gifts: Are Packages on Your Porch Covered by Home Insurance?

The holiday season is a time of giving and generosity. However, whether you’ve ordered the perfect gift for someone else and plan to wrap it at your house or expect to receive your own present in the mail, wrongdoers may be lurking. Stealing packages from outside a person’s home has unfortunately become more common in recent years. Given the increased quantity of packages shipped to residences and left outside, such parcels can be easy targets for thieves. This holiday season, it can be helpful to understand how insurance and proper precautions may keep your gifts safe.

Does Home Insurance Cover Stolen Packages?

Like many aspects of home insurance, coverage for packages left on your front porch may be nuanced and complicated. Although theft is typically a covered incident, whether deliveries left outside are included in the personal property coverage of your homeowners insurance can vary depending on your carrier and other details of your policy.

Even if you analyze your coverage and find that your policy does include such incidents, you should consider the following:

• Deductible—Will your losses greatly exceed your deductible? If stolen packages are not valued at much more than your deductible, filing a claim may not be worth it, as it could provide minimal relief while potentially incurring higher rates upon renewal.
• Limits—Particularly expensive gifts and packages may certainly be worth filing a claim over. However, even if these items qualify for personal property coverage, you’ll still be subject to your policy’s limits.

Tips for Preventing Package Theft

To keep your gifts and deliveries safe this holiday season, consider the following tips:

• Track packages carefully and be ready to bring them inside when they’re expected to arrive.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to watch for your package and to pick it up if they see it left unattended.
• Ship deliveries to your workplace or somewhere else where someone will be available to receive them in person.
• Consider installing motion-activated lighting and surveillance cameras to deter potential thieves.
• Instruct delivery personnel to leave the package somewhere out of sight, such as inside a screen door or in the backyard.

We’re Here to Help

Contact Providers Insurance in Tifton, GA, today to learn more about home insurance and compare personalized quotes.

This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.