The True Cost of a Home Burglary
A home burglary will impact you and your family in many ways. A big hit to your pocketbook is one of the most obvious effects. But, lost productivity and emotional effects are also common for victims. It is important to understand the true cost of a home burglary.
Stolen Property
Your loss of property is the most obvious cost associated with a home burglary. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, the average value of stolen property from residential burglary in 2017 was $2,416. On top of this financial loss, irreplaceable items may be stolen. Whether for sentimental reasons, age or because they were custom-made, the loss hurts.
Damaged Property
Burglars don’t just steal your property when they break in. They may also damage it. They may kick in doors and smash windows or turn over furniture and break fragile items. Not surprisingly, a burglar can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. Naturally, you will repair damaged doors and windows to protect against future burglaries. Leaving the back window broken could result in the same burglar coming back for seconds — something that’s actually relatively common. These repairs will cost money and will have to done right away before the insurance claim is even processed.
Loss of Work or Vacation Time
Missed work or having to cut a vacation short are lesser known costs of a burglary. Obviously, when you get a call about your home being burglarized, you will want to get there right away. Chances are, you will leave work or your travel destination to survey the situation. You may get hit with fees to change flights and forgo payments on prepaid hotels and activities. In addition, you may need to take more time off work. You will want to to clean up, create a list of stolen items, repair damaged doors/windows and to keep an eye on the property. All of this missed work or travel expenses can really add up, compounding the monetary damage done during a burglary.
Psychological Stress
Burglary victims experience very real psychological stress. We all want to believe that our property is safe, especially when it is our home. But if you are burglarized, you realize this just isn’t always the case. A burglary can affect the victims’ sleep quality, health, and their level of happiness. As you can imagine, children especially can have anxiety after such an incident.
Insurance Shortfalls
Homeowners’ insurance helps to replace valuables that are stolen in a home burglary. It also covers the damage that is caused by the burglars. Keep two caveats in mind though. First, understand that not all items are covered by a standard insurance policy. Your policy may not include jewelry over a certain value, cash and some other high-dollar items. Unless you discussed these specifically when buying your policy and they were added, you may not have coverage. Your deductible is the second consideration. Depending on how much is stolen, you might not meet the deductible and so the insurance will pay nothing. Even if you do, they still subtract the amount of the deductible from the total recoverable amount. Either way you are out of pocket.
Check your policy before you find yourself needing it to see whether you have actual cash value or replacement value. This will also make a difference in how much you receive in the event of a burglary.
We Can Help!
A monitored security system is a big deterrent to burglars and CCTV helps secure your home even more. You also get a discount on your homeowners’ insurance with a monitored alarm. Call us at 281-506-8466 or visit us online for more information!
Image by Andrew Khoroshavin from Pixabay
