How Home Insurance Covers Theft and Burglary

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When you hear the word “burglary,” what do you picture? Most people probably think about a masked man in dark clothing breaking through the front door. However, burglary isn’t just limited to houses and buildings—it can also include theft from cars, ATMs and even locker rooms. In fact, there’s no one-size-fits-all definition for burglary; it depends on where the crime took place and what was stolen. Burglary is defined as entering into a structure with intent to commit a crime inside that structure without permission of the owner or occupant of said structure. It includes stealing items that are worth less than $300 (including car keys) or breaking into an automobile with intent to commit any felony therein.

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The prevalence of home burglaries and thefts

The prevalence of home burglaries and thefts is an unfortunate reality for many homeowners. Homeowners insurance can help you recover from the financial impact of theft, but it’s important to know what your policy covers and what it doesn’t.

According to the FBI, there were more than 3 million burglaries in 2017–an increase of 11% compared with 2016. That means that if you own a home in the United States, there’s about a 1% chance that someone will break into yours during any given year. If this news makes you nervous about protecting your valuables, take comfort in knowing that having the right type of coverage could help ease some of those fears once they’re realized.

Potential costs of repairing damage and replacing stolen items

The cost of replacing stolen items depends on the value of the item, and how quickly you can replace it. If your laptop is stolen, for example, you’ll need to pay for a new one as soon as possible if you want to continue working. If your car is damaged in an accident or by fire (or even just vandalized), getting it repaired may mean taking time off work while waiting for parts and labor costs to be covered by insurance.

While these costs are often covered by your home owner’s policy–and sometimes even by renters’ insurance–they do add up quickly when multiplied over thousands of people across the country each year who suffer similar losses due to theft and burglary.

Home insurance covers losses caused by theft or burglary.

If your home is burglarized, the insurer will pay for stolen items up to the overall limit of your policy. If an item is worth more than that amount, you’ll have to pay the difference out of pocket. For example, if your television set was worth $2,000 but had an insured value of $1,500 on its own and then got stolen during a break-in (with other valuable items), then you would only be reimbursed up to $1,500 in total loss claims by the insurance company–the remaining $500 would be considered an uninsured loss because it wasn’t covered under your policy’s limits.

Importance of having home insurance to protect against these risks

Theft and burglary are common risks that affect homeowners. Home insurance can help protect you against these risks by providing coverage for losses caused by theft or burglary.

Homeowners’ policies typically cover the following types of losses:

Jewelry, furs, and firearms – Theft of property in your home or away from the home is covered under this type of insurance; however, coverage may vary depending on the terms and conditions of your policy. If your jewelry was stolen from a safe deposit box at a bank and not from inside your house, then it would not be covered by home insurance because it was not taken from within the house itself.

Losses due to theft include jewelry, furs, and firearms.

Items that are insured against theft include jewelry, furs and firearms. The following list provides examples of losses due to theft:

Cost of replacing the stolen item(s) with like kind and quality;
Losses incurred as a result of filing police reports;
Expenses related to repairing locks or windows damaged during the commission of the crime; and
Costs associated with purchasing additional insurance coverage or credit monitoring services after a loss has occurred.

What types of theft and burglary losses are typically covered by home insurance?

Theft and burglary coverages are typically part of your standard home insurance policy. Those standard policies can vary from one insurer to the next, but they usually include the following:

Personal property, including jewelry, furs and firearms. If someone steals these items while they’re inside your home or vehicle (such as if they break into a car), this coverage will pay for their replacement value minus any depreciation since purchase.
Losses to your home’s structure – for example if someone breaks a window during an attempted burglary or fire and water damage results from putting out a fire caused by cooking grease left on an oven burner too long before you went to bed.* Losses to your home’s contents – anything that’s not considered outside property like trees or fences would be covered under this type of insurance.* Losses arising out of theft or vandalism involving motor vehicles owned by you or members of your household living with you at time loss occurs; however there are some limitations here so check carefully before buying!

Burglary is a criminal act in which a person enters your home with the intent to commit a crime.

Burglary is a criminal act in which a person enters your home with the intent to commit a crime. Burglaries can be committed by people who know you and live nearby, or by strangers who gain access to your property through other means. If you leave keys in the door or on a window sill, for example, it’s easier for burglars to enter your home unnoticed–and even harder for them not to be caught once inside!

Burglars often target homes where they’ve previously been invited into the residence (such as neighbors or friends). They may also use tools like lock picks or crowbars that help them break into houses quickly and quietly without having any prior knowledge of their inhabitants’ whereabouts. It’s important not only that homeowners make themselves aware of these risks but also take steps toward minimizing them so as not only protect themselves against potential loss but also reduce any liability issues down line should something happen anyway.”

What are dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, and additional living expenses coverage?

Home insurance covers loss or damage to your home, its contents and certain other structures on the property. It also provides liability protection and can help pay for additional living expenses if you have to live elsewhere while repairs are being made.

Homeowners insurance policies typically include coverage for:

Dwelling – This is the physical structure of your home, including any attached structures such as garages or sheds. It also includes land around the house that’s used for landscaping (like trees) or outdoor storage areas like a detached garage or tool shed.
Personal property – This refers to all personal belongings inside your dwelling–anything from furniture and clothing to electronics like TVs and computers (but not appliances).
Additional living expenses – If damages caused by covered losses make it difficult for you live in your home temporarily (such as when it needs extensive repairs), this coverage helps pay for temporary housing costs such as hotel bills until repairs can be completed

Types of losses that are typically excluded from coverage

Many policies don’t cover losses caused by war, nuclear hazard or floods. Some policies also exclude losses caused by earthquakes and vandalism or malicious mischief. The exact exclusions will vary depending on your insurer’s policy wording and the type of insurance you have taken out.

If you have personal property stolen from inside your home then this is usually covered under your home insurance policy as long as it is not excluded in the policy wording.

How policy limits and deductibles work in home insurance

The limits of your policy are important because they determine how much you will be paid in the event of a claim. For example, if you have a $100,000 limit on theft and burglary coverage and file a claim for $9500 worth of stolen jewelry from your home, then the insurance company will pay out only $9500.

The deductible is an amount that must be paid by you before any money can be claimed from the insurance company. If there is no deductible on this type of coverage (for example if it’s called “Zero Deductible”), then there won’t be any out-of-pocket expenses after filing a theft or burglary claim with them – which makes sense because why would anyone buy insurance if they didn’t need to? However most policies do have deductibles so make sure yours does too!

How they can affect the amount of coverage available in the event of a theft or burglary

Home insurance covers theft and burglary. The amount of coverage available in the event of a theft or burglary depends on several factors:

Your deductible (the amount you pay before your insurer will reimburse you)
Your limits (the maximum amount that your insurer will pay)

The higher these amounts are, the more expensive your premiums will be. However, if something happens to your home and it’s not covered by insurance because of these details, then it’s better to have higher limits and deductibles than lower ones! Theft and burglary coverage is separate from other types of coverage such as liability or medical payments–it can be excluded if certain conditions are met (see below).

Other types of losses that are covered include vandalism and malicious mischief.

Theft and burglary are not the only losses that are covered by home insurance. Other types of losses that are covered include vandalism and malicious mischief. Vandalism is the intentional destruction or damage of property without any intent to steal; this can occur when someone throws a brick through your window, for example, or it could be as minor as someone spray painting graffiti on your garage door. Malicious mischief is similar to vandalism except there is no intent to steal; instead, it’s simply an act done out of spite or anger (like breaking all the windows in your neighbor’s house).

Both these forms of loss are generally covered under most standard policies–but check with your insurance company before assuming this will be the case!

You should be able to recoup the cost of replacing personal property if it is stolen or damaged by a criminal act

If you have home insurance, you can usually recover the cost of replacing your personal property if it is stolen or damaged by a criminal act.

For example, if someone breaks into your home and steals your laptop computer, or if they damage an antique vase that’s been in your family for generations, then the insurance company will pay out on those losses. In some cases, they may also cover other costs associated with replacing or repairing items such as locks and windows – but only if these things were damaged because of a burglary or theft.

If there’s no evidence that someone broke into your house (for example), then it won’t count as theft; instead it would be considered vandalism which isn’t usually covered under home insurance policies because most people don’t get burglar alarms installed on their houses just so they can claim against them when something gets knocked over accidentally!