Often the most trendy and wealthy residential areas are those targeted by burglars. Homes in these areas, thieves assume, contain a lot of jewellery, gadgets, antiques, artwork and other desirable valuables.

If you live in a postcode with a high theft rate you’ll probably find it difficult to find suitable home insurance. Mainstream insurance companies will either refuse to provide a quote or quote a very expensive price with a very long list of exclusions and conditions. However, HomeProtect can help you.

The cost of living in a targeted area

• Average claim – theft of belongings and buildings damage caused by burglary: £1,850.
• Average claim – theft of bicycles: £550.
• Average claim – theft of itemised valuables from home: £715.

This information relates to average claims resulting from forcible entry into the property and theft of belongings (data from theft claims raised by HomeProtect customers 2012-2015). But some of our customers have had the misfortune of being burgled and having the buildings badly damaged and the majority of their belongings stolen, costing thousands of pounds to replace! With the right policy in place, HomeProtect will be there to help pick up the pieces if this happens to you.

Burglary insurance key points

No-one wants to invite thieves into their home, even with the right insurance policy in place! So we recommend taking precautions to ensure you are doing as much as you can to secure your home from burglars, including:

• Fitting secure locks to your main external doors (5 lever deadlocks conforming to BS3621).
• Fitting key operated window locks on all windows.
• Investing in a safe and storing your jewellery and other small valuables in there at all times.
• Install a monitored alarm at the property.
• Install security lighting at vulnerable points around the property.
• Request a property security audit, either contact your local police station or a private security firm who will recommend any other steps you specifically need to take at your property to deter thieves.

We needed a very specific policy which Home Protect provided at a reasonable price. Other providers either did not offer a solution at all or were very expensive.