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Being burgled is horrid. Even if the financial losses are minimised by a home insurance claim, some things have more sentimental value and it's never nice to know someone has been inside your home going through your things.

That’s why it’s better to avoid being burgled at all by taking simple, practical steps to boost your home security, such as fitting an alarm.

We've compared close to 3m home insurance quotes run on our site and ordered postcodes by their likelihood of being burgled. Where does yours rank?

Burglary Hotspots

Do you live in a burglary hotspot? Enter your postcode to see how your address compares to the rest of the UK.

Burglary can cause upset and anguish. Even if the financial losses are minimised by a home insurance claim, it's better to avoid being burgled at all by taking simple, practical steps boost levels of home security and consider fitting an alarm.

We've compared more than 2m home insurance quotes run on our site and ordered postcodes by their likelihood of being burgled. Where does yours rank?

UK Rank	Postal Area Code	Postal Area	Rate per '000

UK Rank	Postal Area Code	Postal Area	Rate per '000
1	E9	Homerton, Hackney Wick, South Hackney	64.48
2	EC1V	Finsbury, Moorfields Eye Hospital	57.85
3	SE21	Dulwich, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich	56.47
4	B5	Digbeth, Highgate, Lee Bank	53.16
5	N21	Winchmore Hill, Bush Hill, Grange Park	50.89
6	B95	Chigwell	49.82
7	SK4	Stockport, Four Heatons	48.06
8	RM4	Havering-atte-Bower, Abridge, Stapleford Abbotts	48.54
9	TW9	North Sheen, Kew	47.48
10	SE24	Herne Hill, Tulse Hill	46.51
11	B48	Alvechurch	45.73
12	E5	Upper Clapton, Lower Clapton, Leyton	45.56
13	B94	Olton, Solihull	45.45
14	TW10	Ham, Petersham	44.50
15	B13	Moseley, Billesley	42.74
16	S17	Dore, Totley, Bradway	42.40
17	LS20	Guiseley	42.34
18	TW12	Hampton	42.28
19	SW13	Barnes, Castelnau	42.21
20	B93	Olton, Solihull	41.77

The good news for homeowners is that our latest figures suggest that the number of burglaries carried out fell between 2020 and 2021.

Of the 2.8m home insurance customers surveyed, just 37,500 – or 1.3% - made a burglary claim between the beginning of 2020 and the end of 2021.

Year or year, the number of burglary claims per 1,000 quotes also dropped to 11.20, down from 14.98 in 2020 and 16.03 in 2019.

However, some of these falls may be due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced many people to stay at home more than usual in both 2020 and 2021.

So, it’s still sensible to stay alert to the risk of theft from your home, especially if you live in one of the burglary hotspots – the 20 postcodes where residents are most likely to make a burglary claim – revealed in our latest research.

2021 burglary hotspots

As in previous years, cities had the highest claims overall with the most hotspots located in Greater London and Greater Birmingham.

Stratford in the East London postcode of E9 claimed the dubious honour of coming first, with 64.84 claims recorded for every 1,000 quotes, up from 59.44 in 2020.

At the other end of the scale, Bideford in the Exeter postcode of EX39 had the lowest number of burglary claims per 1,000 quotes – 0.59 – for the second year running.

Postcodes with the most burglary claims

Rank	Postcode district	Post town	Contents theft rate (per 1,000)*
1	E9	Stratford	64.84
2	EC1V	Finsbury East	57.85
3	SE21	Dulwich, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich, Tulse Hill, Sydenham Hill	56.47
4	B5	Digbeth, Highgate, Lee Bank	53.16
5	N21	Winchmore Hill, Bush Hill, Grange Park	50.89
6	B95	Stratford upon Avon, Henley in Arden	49.82
7	SK4	Stockport, Four Heatons	49.06
8	RM4	Romford (Havering-atte-Bower, Abridge, Stapleford Abbotts, Noak Hill, Navestock, Stapleford Tawney, Stapleford Aerodrome, Passingford Bridge)	48.54
9	TW9	Richmond, Kew, North Sheen (north)	47.48
10	SE24	Lambeth, Southwark	46.51
11	B48	Alvechurch, Cobley Hill, Weatheroak Hill, Arrowfield Top, Rowney Green	47.73
12	E5	Upper Clapton and Lower Clapton	45.56
13	B94	Earlswood, Hockley Heath, Dorridge, Lapworth, Tanworth in Arden	45.45
14	TW10	Richmond (Ham, Petersham, Richmond Hill, North Sheen (south), Richmond Park	44.50
15	B13	Moseley, Moor Green, Springfield, Wake Green, Cannon Hill, Billesley, Billesley Common	42.74
16	S17	Dore, Totley, Bradway, Totley Brook, Totley Rise	42.40
17	LS20	Guiseley, West Carlton, Hawksworth, Tranmere Park, Greenbottom, Kelcliffe	42.34
18	TW12	Hampton, Hampton Hill, Fulwell (west)	42.28
19	SW13	Richmond upon Thames	42.21
20	B93	Knowle, Bentley Heath, Dorridge, Copt Heath	41.77

As in previous years, cities had the highest claims overall with the most hotspots located in Greater London and Greater Birmingham.

Stratford in the East London postcode of E9 claimed the dubious honour of coming first, with 64.84 claims recorded for every 1,000 quotes, up from 59.44 in 2020.

At the other end of the scale, Bideford in the Exeter postcode of EX39 had the lowest number of burglary claims per 1,000 quotes – 0.59 – for the second year running.

Postcodes with the fewest burglary claims

Rank	Postcode district	Post town	Contents theft rate (per 1,000)*
1	EX39	Bideford	0.59
2	BT23	Newtownards	0.71
3	EX31	Barnstaple	0.77
4	TQ13	Bovey Tracey, Ashburton, Chudleigh, Chagford, Moretonhampstead	0.80
5	CA1	Carlisle (east)	0.89
6	SY23	Llanrhystud	0.91
7	CH65	Ellesmere Port	0.97
8	BT53	Ballymoney	1.04
9	IV30	Belgin	1.08
10	SA62	Haverfordwest	1.10
11	CA2	Carlisle	1.13
12	TQ7	Kingsbridge, Thurlestone, Aveton Gifford, Malborough, South Milton, Chillington	1.13
13	TA21	Wellington, Chelston, Holcombe Rogus, Greenham, Nynehead, Rockwell Green	1.14
14	PE31	Wellington, Chelston, Holcombe Rogus, Greenham, Nynehead, Rockwell Green	1.18
15	KY16	St Andrews	1.26
16	GU46	Yateley, Sandhurst, Blackwater	1.26
17	DL6	Brompton, Osmotherley, Swainby, Ingleby Arncliffe, Potto	1.27
18	IP25	Feltwell, Northwold, Mundford, Foulden, Methwold	1.28
19	DH8	Consett, Durham, Stanley	1.28
20	SR3	Sunderland	1.29

Preventative measures

Whether you live in a crime-prone area or not, it’s always a good idea to protect your home as much as possible.

Simple steps you can take to help deter thieves include:

Investing in decent locks for your windows and doors
Marking your possessions with a UV security pen so anything stolen can be identified
Planting prickly bushes, but keeping them low enough for neighbours to spot anyone trying to break in
Installing cameras and automatic sensor lights or even a fully monitored smart system
Getting an alarm installed by a supplier accredited by either the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) – a NACOSS Gold supplier – or the Security Systems an Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB)
Keeping valuables away from windows and storing keys out of sight

What to do if you’re burgled

Here’s a quick checklist of what to do if your home is burgled:

Report it to the police as soon as you can
Avoid touching anything to increase the chances of police finding fingerprints etc.
Once you have a crime reference number, call the claims number on your home insurance policy documents to make a home insurance claim
Take photos showing the items stolen or damaged in each room before starting to clear up

Do you live in a burglary hotspot?