It’s one thing to simply install a lock or an alarm, it’s another thing to actually use it.

Millions of Americans who invest in deadbolts and home alarms are failing to benefit from those devices and leaving their property vulnerable to theft, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. said.

Twenty percent of homeowners with alarm systems fail to activate them during the day, even though that’s when most thefts occur, according to a Nationwide survey released today. About 25 percent of Americans said they left their front doors unlocked when leaving the house at least once in the past year.

Read more at Bloomberg.com.