How Do I Keep My Luxury Bags Safe from Burglaries and Home Invasions?

Dear PurseBop:

With the increase in home invasions, what do you recommend is the best way to store/hide/conceal our handbag collections? I just downsized and do not have an actual walk in vault in my new home like prior. And, this collection of Hermes and Chanel has been amassed over past 20 years and is irreplaceable.

Dear Stay Safe:

Unfortunately, this has become a daily concern of every handbag and luxury collector. We are aware of many collections being completely wiped out by home burglaries. It is important to change the way we store our luxury items and the way we shop.

Some tips for storing and protecting your luxury handbags and jewelry at home:

Remove all or most of handbags and jewelry from the master closet;
Leave costume jewelry and low end handbags in the master closet;
Diversify the location of the luxury items in the home particularly when out of town or not at home;
Consider hiding items in basements, under stairways, hidden areas behind walls;
Do not store all items together in one place;
Consider installing a safe that is bolted to the floor and weighs at least 1,000 pounds in a closet in another area of the house outside of the bedrooms;
Store jewelry and smaller items in a safe deposit box at the bank particularly when you travel;
Install an updated security system with alarm, cameras, and glass breaking sensors, to alert you and the police if there is an intruder;
When shopping be aware of your surroundings at all times;
When driving home from shopping do not go straight home. Drive around to insure you are not being followed;
Insure your luxury handbags and jewelry with a separate Rider from an insurance company such as Chubb Insurance or your own homeowners insurance company, and make sure the list is current and up to date and has photographs attached

Read Related Article:

Guide on How To Protect and Insure Your Handbags