PRIME TIME FOR BURGLARIES IS WEDNESDAY MORNING

The most likely time for a burglary is Wednesday morning with almost a fifth (18%) taking place at this point in the week, according to research out today from Allianz Insurance. In fact, burglars appear to prefer to take their weekends off, as 71% of break-ins happen between Monday and Friday.

Frighteningly, around four in ten burglaries (41%) take place while the person who lives in the property is at home and nearly one in ten (8%) people revealed they have confronted a burglar during a break-in. In 11% of burglary cases there are children at home at the time which can only heighten the emotional impact a burglary has on a family.

Recent national crime figures show 789,000[i] burglaries were carried out in England and Wales last year alone. According to the research out today from Allianz Insurance, more than a third (35%) of those burgled have been so more than once. More than half (52%) of burglars have been able to enter homes through the front or back door and in nine per cent of cases they got in through an open door.

While homes with no security measures in place are five times more likely to be burgled than those that do[ii], many people only wait until after a burglary has taken place to introduce security measures. The most popular security measures following a burglary are adding or changing their locks (47%), installing an alarm (33%), or installing double glazing (22%).

Tom Moss, underwriting director at Allianz Insurance, said: “People often do not believe that they will be a victim of crime until something happens, at which point it is too late to do anything to stop it. The average cost of a burglary is around £2,300 and not everyone has an insurance policy to pay the bill. We urge homeowners to act now to improve the security of their home because it does make burglars think twice about breaking in.”

The top five things taken in burglaries, according to research from Allianz Insurance, are:

1. Jewellery (39%)
2. Money (38%) / Electronics such as a TV (38%)
3. Laptops and computers (18%) / Cameras (18%)
4. Clothes (21%)
5. Music systems (11%)

Allianz Insurance claims handlers offer guidance to customers on how to cope with being burgled and will put them in touch with Victim Support to ensure they get the support they need, particularly to help themdeal with the emotional impact of the break-in.

For more information on Allianz Insurance, please visit: www.allianz.co.uk

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Notes to Editors

About the research

This survey was carried out on behalf of Allianz Insurance by OnePoll Research 12/03/15 – 17/03/15, who interviewed 500 burglary victims.

About Allianz

Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, one of the leading integrated financial services providers worldwide and the largest property and casualty insurer in the world.With approximately 142,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 78 million customers in more than 70 countries.

The mission of Allianz Insurance is to be the outstanding competitor in our chosen markets by delivering products and services that our clients recommend, being a great company to work for and achieving the best combination of profit and growth.

[i]ONS Crimes Figures – England and Wales 2014 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/year-ending-september-2014/stb-crime-in-england-and-wales--year-ending-september-2014.html#tab-Theft-offences-–-Burglary

[ii]Police.uk - https://www.police.uk/crime-prevention-advice/burglary/