Burglary and Theft Insurance Tips
We regularly meet policyholders who have lost precious possessions in break-ins and thefts.
The items stolen have generally been amassed over many years and the value is usually significant and for many items the sentimental value is incalculable. Popular items for burglars are jewellery, diamonds, silver, gold, coins, watches, cash, phones, tablets etc. (anything that can been sold off quickly).
Theft claims often turn on one question: can you show that you owned the item? If you cannot, the insurer may reduce or decline that part of the claim.
Whether an item is covered depends on your policy, including its limits and conditions. Under most policies, it is up to you to prove to your insurance company that you had these items in the first place.
Insurers will usually ask for one or more of the following as proof of ownership:
- Original receipt or invoice
- Photographs of the items (where the item ownership can be confirmed)
- Valuations
- Credit card statements
Without proof of ownership, a theft claim is much harder to support.
Sounds simple enough? In reality many of these items would be in excess of 5 years old and many items would have been family heirlooms (mothers diamond ring, grannies watch etc.) original receipts would not be available, photographs would be scarce and valuations rarely available. Many of these items would have seriously increased in value since they were purchased many years ago and you would not be aware of their current value. We see many cases where this information simply isn’t there, and the claim then has to be pieced together from whatever evidence the family can find.
Before you take a Theft Cover, ensure that you can prove the ownership of the goods you are about to insure
- Take a photograph of all high value items in your property and store safely.
- When you add something to your collection, take another photo. That way you have at least some proof if the worst happens.
- Bring all your jewellery to a jeweller and pay for a detailed valuation of all items, send this to your insurance company for their records and ask your insurance. company if you need to specify any of the items on your policy.
- Keep as many receipts as possible. If bought by credit card, keep your credit card statement.
- Find out your single article limit for each item (many policies limit any one item to a set percentage of the contents sum insured, so check your own policy schedule).
- Ask your broker or insurer whether expensive jewellery should be specified on your policy or covered on an all risks basis.
If you have had a burglary and high-value items were stolen, call ICS Loss Assessor. We are independent of your insurance company and act for you: we help you gather proof of ownership, prepare the claim and deal with the loss adjuster on your behalf. Call us on 01 870 9210. We work on a no win no fee basis and the initial consultation is free.