What to do if you return home from summer holiday to a burglary

The end-of-holiday blues may be all too real for many of us, but what’s worse is returning home to discover your home has been burgled.

Coming home to a break-in can be extremely traumatic, leaving you shaken up and feeling vulnerable. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to have some plans in place to be able to respond quickly. Many burglaries occur over the Christmas break, when families are away and homes are empty, so this is a time to be as prepared as possible.

Essential steps to take if you’ve been the victim of a burglary:

1. Contact the police

Most importantly, make sure you’re okay and feel safe enough to check no one is still inside your home. If a window or a door has been broken, contact the police so they can enter the property first. Reporting to the police is a necessary form of evidence, proving to your insurer a crime has taken place. If the police don’t come to your house, it is still essential you made contact with them before you call your insurer.

2. Take photographs to document the burglary

It can be helpful to take photographs of the door or window if there are signs of forced entry and the state of your house when you first arrived home before you begin to move things back to how they were pre break-in. The more you document, the more information you can provide to your insurer.

3. Look after yourself and your family

A break-in can be very emotional and troubling, leaving people feeling violated and vulnerable. Your own safety and the safety of those around you is the most important thing. If you don’t feel safe entering your house, wait for the police to arrive to check the place first. It may be worth staying with family or friends if you arrive home late at night or the police aren’t able to arrive to inspect your property quickly.

4. Call your insurer

Call your insurance company as soon as you can to inform them of the break-in. If you're able to, make a list of items you believe have been taken. This list can be added to if you realise later that additional items are missing - it can take time to discover everything that’s missing as it is easy to forget about pieces of jewellery that you haven’t worn in years, or missing items from drawers that are hardly opened. In some cases, people may have spent time in your house, or it may have been vandalised. Make sure to mention all of these details to your insurer - they will talk you through what extra steps need to be taken.

5. Take precautions

It’s important to take a few simple steps to reduce the chance of another burglary occuring in the future.

First of all, before you head away, talk to your neighbours so they can keep an eye on your place - you can return the favour when they take a holiday. Make sure your neighbours have your contact details so if in the unfortunate event of a burglary, they are able to get hold of you.

Aim to have a tidy house when you leave on holiday. This makes it much easier to notice what isn’t in its correct place and what has been stolen, therefore making it more manageable to create a list of stolen items.

It is also always a great idea to activate a security alarm on your house - make sure it's turned on each time you head out the front door.