Theft rates in Australia are relatively high, but Australians are still acting dumb about security, according to AAMI’s latest home and car theft index.

It says around four in every 10 Australians have been burgled at least once at their current or previous address. And up to one-third of all people surveyed said they do leave their house with the doors and windows unlocked.

The study, conducted by Sweeney Research, also focused on the differences between security awareness from ages 18 to 55 and over. According to the results, security awareness rises with age: Out of a possible best score of 100, the 18-34 age group achieved a 60.9 rating, 35-54 rated 64.8 and people over 55 had an index of 66.6. And the nation overall achieved an overall security conscious rating of 64.1.

Deadlocked doors (77%) and window locks (69%) were the most popular forms of household security. Only around 30% of homes around Australia have security alarms but 42% of owners said they sometimes go out without activating it.  

Results also showed that 82% of those people surveyed had contents insurance – with homeowners more likely to have contents insurance than those renting.