Insurers have warned that the price of home cover will continue to rise until we can remove the constant threat of house breaking. Modern security measures have beaten back the advance of the average criminal, leaving just the organised professionals. They carry out detailed surveillance on your property before targeting specific homes, using tech to help max out loot and minimise chance.
A “sticker scam” has recently started, where professionals will target a house prime for theft, and place a fake sticker (for say, a locksmith) somewhere on the house. A gang will then come later to clear it out. This highlights a level of craft that isn’t employed by the average burglar. Most criminals are deterred by the increase in security technology for a regular home.
Police are blaming the rising price of gold, which has moved from (USD $)250 to (USD $)761 an ounce in the last decade. Gangs now appear to be entering homes with metal detectors, searching specifically for gold and jewellery. They even have cash for gold envelopes in their pockets and runners who take them to a post-box immediately.
Despite this, the actual number of home invasions has been falling due to increased security and neighbourhood watch schemes. However, they still remain the number one cause of claims on home insurance. This is according to AA Insurance Services – who say burglary claims had reached 165,000 during the first nine months of last year. They expect them to topped 220,000 by the end of 2013 once the stats are collated later this month.
The average cost of claims is now also on the rise. At Esure, the biggest claims are topping (USD $)100,000 while the AA’s highest value claim coming in at (USD $)67,562 and their average at (USD $)1,752. Even if you aren’t a victim of theft, you’re likely to feel this when you’re expected to continue paying increasingly harsh premiums on your home insurance. All homes are assessed for risk, and if there’s been a spate of burglaries on your road or within your postcode, you’ll sadly see a change in your insurance premiums to adjust to the risk.
If your road is hit by a synchronised crime attack, Esure have said your premiums could do as much as double. This means that the annual premium for a usually low risk, four-bedroom, semi-detached house could climb from around (USD $)135 to (USD $)298 after being re-rated as high risk. Although homes are supposed to be assessed on individual risk, this string of thefts could mean you’re paying out far more even if you aren’t affected directly.
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