How common are burglaries in my area?

Key takeaways

• Burglaries are considered ‘crimes of opportunity’ with offenders taking advantage of unsecured homes.

• Home insurance can help cover financial losses but be sure to shop around for the best deal.

• Prevention is better than cure, so take steps to protect your property and keep the thieves away – this could also mean you benefit from lower insurance premiums.

How common are burglaries in my area?

You can use our burglary hotspot tool to see what the rate of burglaries was in your area between 2020 and 2025. You can also check out how this compares to the rest of the UK.

Which areas in the UK have the most burglaries?

We analysed home insurance quotes from MoneySuperMarket Home Insurance customers to find the UK postcodes with the highest and lowest rates of burglary claims between since 2020 and 2025.

The Birmingham postcode district of B15, which covers Edgbaston, has the highest rate of burglaries in the UK. With both the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University having campuses in the B15 area, a high student population is likely a contributing factor (this postcode has 57.7 claims for every 1,000 quotes).

London also features high on the list, with six of the ‘top 10’ postcode areas with the ‘most burglary claims’ all in the capital – this includes TW12 (Hampton) and SW13 (Barnes, Castelnau), along with E9, E5, SW14 and SE21.

At the other end of the scale, residents of the Northern Irish postcode district of BT23 can sleep easy as this postcode has the lowest rate of burglary claims (just 1.1 for every 1,000 quotes).

Do burglaries affect my home insurance?

Yes. Crime rates are one of the key factors that insurers take into consideration when calculating the cost of your insurance premium.

So, if you live in an area with a high incidence of burglaries, this is likely to mean your home insurance quotes are more expensive.

It’s also worth noting that living in a ‘crime-prone’ area can have an impact on your car insurance premium, too.

What can I do to better protect my property – and prevent burglaries?

Whether you live in a ‘crime-prone’ area or not, there are lots of simple practical steps you can take to deter thieves and boost your home security. These include:

• Fitting an alarm from an accredited supplier, and always using it

• Installing a video doorbell.

• Upgrading your locks on both windows and doors.

• Looking into replacing old windows and doors with newer, more robust, ones.

• Installing cameras and automatic sensor lights, or even a fully-monitored system.

• Marking your possessions with a UV security pen so anything stolen can be identified.

Do I have the right level of home cover in place?

No matter whether you’ve taken some simple steps to secure your property – or if your home is practically a fortress – be sure to compare home insurance with MoneySuperMarket.

That way, you get the peace of mind of knowing your belongings are protected.

We can do the hard work for you, helping you find the best price for the cover you want – saving you both time and money.

How can I lower the cost of my home insurance?

• Consider paying annually in one lump sum upfront; paying monthly to spread the cost may sound appealing, but can mean you pay more as interest is often added.

• Take steps to improve your home security, if insurers view your home as less risky to insure, this can lead to lower premiums.

• Think about increasing the level of your voluntary excess, but just be sure you can still afford this should you end up needing to make a claim.

• Be sure to shop around at renewal time.

Do I need to be aware of my insurer’s ‘single items limit’ if I have valuables?

While home insurance will cover the cost of your belongings should anything happen to them, it’s important to let your insurer know of any particularly valuable items that might exceed the policy’s single items limit.

So, whether you’re a keen collector of comic books, wine, rare coins, Pokémon cards – or maybe you’ve treated yourself to a nice watch or expensive jewellery – telling your insurance provider will give you the peace of mind of knowing that your treasured items are protected.

If your collection is particularly valuable, you might want to consider specialist jewellery, bicycle or art insurance.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

Our expert says

“While it can be startling to see it laid out like this, it’s important to remember that taking simple steps to secure your home can help reduce the likelihood of being burgled. 

“Our research also shows that burglary claims are trending downwards with the number of claims per 1,000 quotes falling by around 15% in the last year.  

“If you’re looking to save money on your home insurance, compare policies and prices to find the best deals. Installing a burglar alarm or upgrading old windows and doors can help bring your quote down in price while also making your home more secure.” 

What should I do if I get burgled?

• Report it to the police as soon as you can.

• Avoid touching anything as this can help police in their efforts to find fingerprints.

• Get a crime reference number from the police.

• Once you have this, call the claims number on your home insurance policy documents to make a home insurance claim.

• Take photos of damaged items before you start to clear up and look for receipts or example images of any stolen items.

Methodology

An analysis of MoneySuperMarket home insurance quote data from the start of 2020 to January 2025.

Postcode areas with fewer than 300 enquiries were not considered.

Any postcodes with missing data were excluded from the study.