Effective Ways to Reduce Theft Risks at Your Business

Surprisingly to many small businesses, the most effective ways to reduce theft do not cost a great deal of money and are not hard to put into place. Theft is one of the most common business insurance claims. These claims can be for lost inventory, stolen computers or electronics or lost cash. Being proactive is always the best option. Small- and medium-sized businesses should not view theft prevention as a difficult process but rather should put into place simple, effective methods to reduce these risks.

What Steps Can You Take to Reduce Theft?

Take a look around your location. Where are areas of potential theft? If you are unsure of this, you may be able to work with your business insurance agent to pinpoint specific areas of risk. In other situations, you can spot potential areas of risk based on what you are losing. Then put in place these tools to help reduce the thefts you face.

• Install better lighting. Adding more lighting around doors, windows and high-risk areas can help deter theft. For example, if your business stores product outside its doors and this product is often stolen, installing bright lights puts a spotlight on these items, reducing the risk that someone will steal them.
  
  
• Install alarms. If you see a specific type of merchandise stolen, put an alarm on a cabinet to store those items. Alarms should also be on doors and safes that alert the local police when there is a break-in during overnight or other closed periods.
  
  
• Add security at the door. You can do this in various ways. Add burglar-resistant glass to doors and windows. Install security cameras in this location. Add bars to windows in areas where there is higher risk such as where it may be easy to break glass to get into the building.

In some high-risk areas, it may be beneficial to use private security patrols. Your business insurance may even cost less if you have this type of security in place. For those companies seeing a good deal of loss, these steps can help to safeguard the business without adding a great deal of cost to your operations. It may even save you money down the road.