Garage Security Tips

Your garage is an important part of your home. Whether it’s where you keep your cars, tools or shoes, your garage holds more valuables than you may think. But it may also be less secured than you think. Between being left opened or unlocked, garages are a common place for theft to occur. Thankfully, there are easy ways to prevent theft in this important space.

To keep your home and what matters most safe, check out these garage security tips.

Close Your Garage Door — Always

If your garage door is closed, the chances of someone walking in and stealing something go down a lot. But between working on a garage project over the weekend and having several cars go in and out each day, closing your garage door can be easy to forget.

To help prevent theft, remember to keep your garage closed. Try setting a reminder on your phone or ask a family member to remind you to close the garage door when you leave the house or are done using it. You can even leave a post-it note on your home’s entry door reminding you to close the garage door.

Keep Doors to the House Locked

This is another easy thing to do, but many of us forget to do it. If someone breaks in or steals something from your garage, locking the door to your home can prevent them from entering and potentially stealing more. Make a habit of locking the door every time you enter or leave through your garage. And don’t forget to bring a house key with you!

Lock entry points like the service door

Most garages have a walk-through entry called the service door, which is often a weak spot in garage security. Make sure you always keep this door locked and consider using a heavy-duty strike plate and dead bolt lock to keep it as secured as possible.

Block a View Inside Through the Windows

If a thief can see into your garage, they’re more likely to spot something valuable they may want to steal. You can prevent this from happening by making sure all views into your garage are blocked when the door is closed. These views mostly stem from garage windows, so consider installing thick curtains to cover them.

Bring Your Garage Door Opener and Key with You

Leaving your key beneath the door mat or under a nearby rock is the first place burglars will look. And the same applies to your garage door opener. Keeping it in your car or outside your garage can make it more accessible to thieves, so keep the opener with you as much as possible. If it’s too big or clunky, consider buying a keychain remote you can keep on you via your car keys.

Consider a Home Security System

Secure your garage with smart home technology. Motion-sensing flood lights are popular tech and they’re a great way to deter thieves — and prevent night-time break-ins. When used together with an alarm system and security cameras, you can really protect your home.

American Family is dedicated to bringing its customers the very best in home security, which is why we've partnered with industry leader ADT, a one-stop shop for of your smart home security needs!

Shop for a More Secure Garage Door

If you have an older garage door, it may be easily opened and broken into by simply lifting it off the ground or just breaking a piece of it off. If this is a concern, you might need to invest in a new and sturdier garage door. When it is time to replace your garage door, consider selecting one without windows and made of a heavy-duty material like steel.

Does Home Insurance Cover Theft in Garages?

Yes, a standard homeowners insurance policy offers personal property coverage that can cover your property if stolen out of your garage. Homeowners insurance can also help financially protect you by helping to cover the cost to replace or repair items that were stolen or damaged from a break-in, whether it was in your garage, basement, or living room.

Personal property coverage does have a limit though, so after you pay your deductible (which is the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in), you’ll only be covered up to a certain amount. If you keep more valuable items in your garage, consider requesting scheduled personal property to help recover the costs of those possessions.

If you have a detached garage used for storing vehicles, it can be covered as an other structure in homeowners insurance.

Learn more about how homeowners insurance can protect your home from the unexpected.

Your garage is an important part of your home and there are many ways to keep what matters most to you safe and secure. To further protect your garage and other areas of your home, start by getting in touch with your American Family Insurance agent (Opens in a new tab) for a quote.

This article is for informational purposes only and includes information widely available through different sources.