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Insurance Repairs Following a Break-in

The thing with insurers is that they only pay to replace what was damaged. They’ll never upgrade anything.

Now picture this: your home has been broken into and some damage has been done. If the damage is repaired, you’ll be just as vulnerable as before, and the burglar knows that. Not only does the intruder know that, he’ll make use of that fact if it’s worth breaking into your house a second time. (It often is worth breaking in a second time, because insurance companies may well replace any expensive televisions and other items that were pinched.)

So what should I really do after a break-in?

Once the police has done their bit, and you’ve informed your insurance company, it’s good to properly look at what actually happened. You’ll normally find bits of evidence lying around that will show you what the burglar probably did to get in.

I recently inspected a break-in where the miscreants had tried to break the front door down, but failed; tried to crowbar a window, but failed; and then managed to smash open the back door. What can we learn from this?

First, we can learn that burglars are opportunists. They will always take the easy option and will give up the moment something isn’t easy. If they took some time and put some proper backbone into it, they might have got in through the window, but they didn’t.

The next thing we can learn is that the front door and windows on this property are secure; they’re good. As such, it’s all right to get the insurance simply to repair any chips or scuffs in the paintwork caused by the robbers.

And the next thing to realise—it feels pretty daft saying it, since it’s so obvious—is that the back door is not secure at all. A couple of lazy burglars who give up the moment anything becomes vaguely complicated managed to smash the door down. A simple repair is not enough by a mile. This issue needs to be addressed properly and fundamentally.

Lastly, given the systematic approach of the burglars (try, move on, try, move on etc.), it’s worth assessing where they would have gone next, were your back door secure. Are there any other windows to crowbar?

The responsibility lies with you, I’m afraid

The insurance company is unlikely to pay out following an identical break-in after you failed to upgrade your security.

Improved security doesn’t have to be expensive. Sometimes all it takes is an additional lock on the back door. In the case of the break-in I inspected, the solution was to lock up the wooden gate that separated the front and back of the house. A chunky padlock and chain were fitted. The hope is that this would deter and indeed prevent any break-in attempts.

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