Burglaries from households in England and Wales increased by 14% throughout the year 2010-11 according to the British Crime Survey. This rise will be worrying for homeowners, because being the unwilling recipient of burglary can be extremely distressing and expensive. In case your house is burgled it is worth following these 10 basic steps. They’ll assist you to handle a burglary and also make a profitable insurance claim with a loss assessor.
1. In the event that you have been burgled, always call the authorities straight away.You need their documents as proof to process a claim in many cases.
2. Call the authorities from a mobile or from a neighbour’s home if you think the burglars might still be within your property.
3. Don’t try to clean up until after the cops have been and finished their investigations. They are prone to send specialist officers who will take photographs and look for fingerprints, therefore it is vital that you preserve as much proof as you can. They will also provide you with a crime number, which you’ll need when doing your insurance claim.
4. Look at your home carefully for missing and damaged items. Draft a list of everything and then try to include makes, models and serial numbers if you can. It is also useful to include any sort of purchase receipts if you have them.
5. Burglars often look for bank and charge cards. If yours happen to be stolen be sure to contact your bank’s crisis numbers and have all of them cancelled. These services are usually accessible 24-hours a day, 365 days a year so you shouldn’t have to wait until office hours.
6. Check whether any essential files are absent, like your passport or even driving license. If they are then you may need to contact the appropriate authorities. To find the contact details it’s worth searching online for the best numbers to call up.
7. Get in touch with your insurance providers and let them know about your burglary. Don’t forget to have your crime number to hand once you call. They’ll then begin your insurance claim.
8. If the police have completed their enquiries, your insurance company may set up to board up any broken home windows or replace broken locks. If your coverage doesn’t include this particular emergency cover, you will have to arrange this on you own. As always you need to use reputable tradespeople, so you may find websites like Checkatrade useful, where one can study reviews of their assistance left by other customers in your local area.
9. Get in touch with professional insurance loss assessors. If required, they can offer help by providing approved contractors and locksmiths in order to secure your property. They will also help you make an extensive list of all your stolen & damaged possessions. They will then fully handle your case all through your claim, helping to make sure that you get a complete and also acceptable settlement from your insurers.
10. Finally, review your security plans. In the event you haven’t already, think about fitting locks for your windows and security bolts on your doors. You might think about installing a burglar alarm.