According to the government’s crime figures for 2018, there were between 30,000 and 40,000 burglaries nationally each month of the year (more than a thousand a day) with a spike in January — no doubt targeting all those expensive Christmas presents. Hopefully most of those victims were insured, though even a successful insurance claim can’t fully compensate for the loss of treasured possessions.

Of course, burglary is nothing new, though the figures do show that it’s still a major problem. What is new, however, is that burglars are increasingly turning to up-to-date technology to achieve their nefarious aims.

One way this manifests is that many burglars now scour social media for information that shows local homes are currently empty. So those holiday snaps you upload straight onto Facebook or Instagram may be a message saying “Come and burgle me” — just what your insurer’s Loss Adjuster needs to refuse your claim.

Burglars Are Dectectorists Too

It’s not just in the planning that burglars are tech savvy nowadays. Where the burglar of the past had to spend time (time when they risked getting caught) ransacking your home for valuables, many modern burglars are using metal detectors to lead them straight to jewelry or other metal items.

Keeping them in a safe may seem the obvious answer, but that’s no good if the key is also metal. The best solution is to have a wall-mounted combination safe, so they can neither get into it nor take the whole thing away. Not only will this reduce the risk of losing your valuables, it may also reduce your insurance premiums and help with the insurance claim for anything the burglar does make off with.

If you do lose your valuables in a burglary, you’ll need a current valuation, an invoice or receipt, or a photo of the item to give the Loss Adjuster — ideally all three. It’s far better, though, to be one step ahead of the burglars and not lose them at all. Why not give us a call, whether you need more information on safeguarding your valuables or to make a claim?