Break-ins needn't break your heart

Theft is the homeowner's most-feared crime, says Edmund Tirbutt. But a sympathetic insurer can reduce the sting

Few incidents affect the average householder more than burglary. Home Office figures show this crime rate is rising, and a study by the British Market Research Bureau found 65 per cent of respondents named burglary as the main threat to the home, ahead of fire, subsidence, flooding and storm damage.

Many burglaries are committed for money to buy drugs, and focus on items that can be readily disposed of rather than those with the greatest value.

When Brian Hedge, a 67-year-old retired draftsman, suffered a break-in a year ago, the culprits took only two video recorders and a music centre. Yet binoculars, watches and jewellery belonging to Mr Hedge's wife Sheila, 63, were in clear sight.

When the couple returned to their three-bedroom, detached home in Luton, Bedfordshire, after an evening's dancing, they waltzed through the front door without a care. But they saw the contents of their kitchen cupboard strewn on the floor, and realised the french windows to the garden had been smashed and the main rooms ransacked.

Mr Hedge, who has two grown-up children, says: "It's something you never think is going to happen to you. Our 36 years as home owners had been entirely trouble-free. We always leave the house fully locked with the lights on and, although we'd heard of the odd burglary in our area, they were never that near to us.

"Fortunately, all the costs were covered by our contents insurance and I couldn't believe how easy it was to claim. The electrical items were replaced within 10 days and the insurers gave us a choice between using their preferred suppliers or retailers of our own choice."

Mr Hedge pays a combined annual premium of £222.94 to Saga Home Insurance for buildings and contents cover. He used its preferred contractors to repair the french windows at a cost of £1,627.31.

For the stolen items, Saga allowed him to select his replacements and paid the shops concerned directly by cheque, £399 for the music centre and £283.59 for the video recorders.

Many people who claim on contents policies are particularly impressed by the speed and flexibility of insurers. Most stolen items are now replaced in kind rather than paid in cash, saving policyholders having to obtain quotes from suppliers. And claimant are often allowed to use a favoured shop.

They can also end up with superior models because insurers will normally replace stolen equipment with the most up-to-date equivalent or they may permit a slight upgrade if the direct equivalent is not available. The music centre stolen from Mr Hedge was a JVC but it was replaced with a Yamaha worth £100 more.

As long as your claim is not out of line with the insurer's perception of your lifestyle, the claims process should be hassle-free but there is still much to be said for keeping receipts for items you have purchased, where possible.

Jonathan Mansfield, insurance manager at the Ipswich, Suffolk, insurance brokers Ryan Insurance Group, says: "Some insurers are more fussy than others and in practice an insurer would have to demonstrate good reason to doubt you owned an item if it was going to refuse to pay you.

"It can make the claims process much smoother if you can show you had a valuation or receipt for anything vulnerable to theft. If it exceeds the single-item limit on your policy, which is typically either £1,000 or £1,500, with some insurers it becomes much more important to have such evidence."

But one in four households still has no contents insurance and cost is a factor. Between £12,000 and £15,000 of cover in low-to-medium risk areas is likely to cost an annual premium of £100 to £200. That can be higher in high-risk postcodes.

People concerned about burglars can reduce premiums by get discounts for taking security measures. Some insurers will give 5 to 10 per cent discounts if you have a five-lever mortice deadlock on the main exit and key-operated locks on all windows. These can simply be a condition of insurance if you live in an area highly vulnerable to crime, or have a policy limit above £50,000. And discounts can be made to members of approved Neighbourhood Watch schemes or who install suitable alarms, although some experts warn against the latter.

Laurie Rice, personal insurances manager at James Hampden Insurance Brokers based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, says: "It is fine if people want to fit an alarm for their peace of mind, but if they accept a discount and the alarm doesn't function the insurer may give a reduced pay-out. I always recommend clients not to take the discount." Mr Rice also highlights another problem area: no-claims discounts, which contents insurers often give up to a maximum of 20 per cent to those who remain claims-free for three years. After you have acquired the maximum discount it can make sense to waive your right to making small claims. Much depends on the size of your excess, the first slice of the claim you must pay yourself.

"If you have an excess of £50 it is probably not worth claiming for amounts of under £100," Mr Rice says. "What you get may come to less than what you lose in no-claims discounts over the next three years. If your excess is £100, it may not be worth claiming unless the total claim is £200 or £250."