Ways to help secure your home from theft

New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed a stark increase in the rate of home break-ins in the past year. The proportion of households broken into rose from 1.8 percent in 2022-23, to 2.1 per cent in 2023-24, translating to an increase of 32,000 households. Of those reported to police, the most common property stolen included personal items, such as jewellery and clothing, bicycles and sporting equipment, tools, and money.

In light of these startling figures, we decided to run our own analysis, looking at home insurance claim lodgements received by NRMA Insurance, SGIO and SGIC for incidents occurring across financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24¹. Here's what we found when we compared the two years: 15.9% decrease in the volume of theft-related claims, driven by a 19.1% decrease in the volume of attempted theft claims (where someone tries to break in, and causes damage).  

So what does this tell us? If crime is up, why are lodgements with NRMA Insurance down? We can’t say for sure, but we can assume that not everyone who experienced a break in is insured, let alone insured with NRMA Insurance. There’s also the possibility that some people simply didn’t make a claim.

In any case, one thing is for sure. When people are aware of risks, they can take steps to help mitigate them. Being proactive is the first line of defence when it comes to enhancing home security.

By securing your home, you can lower your risk of becoming a victim of crime. From door and window locks to motion-activated lighting and home alarms, we break down the different strategies you can use to help protect your home and valuables.  

Locking up creates more than just a sense of security. By keeping doors, windows, gates, sheds and garages securely locked, you create a physical barrier, making it that much harder for would-be thieves to break in.

Criminals don't want to get caught. Motion-triggered lighting and visible cameras can therefore be effective in deterring crime. But that’s not all. When strategically placed at the entry and exit points of a residence, home CCTV surveillance can assist in:

• identifying offenders 
• recording evidence of malicious activity
• enhancing feelings of community safety.

Maintaining a home inventory of your valuable items can be helpful in case you ever need to make an insurance claim. Note down the manufacturer, model name/number, serial number and take a photo of the item in the event it gets stolen.  

If you've recently bought new appliances (like a smart TV) or treated yourself to a designer pair of shoes, don’t leave the branded boxes they arrived in on the nature strip. Break them down and recycle them, so people don’t know what you have inside your home.

Likewise, don’t keep valuable items like wallets, phones or watches by doors and windows, as this makes them easily accessible to criminals. 

If you’re heading on a holiday or weekend trip, it’s important to be proactive about protecting your home while you’re away. The key to this is making it look like someone’s still at home. 

 Here are some strategies: 

• Have a trusted friend or family member collect your mail, bring in your bins, and tend to your garden.
• Set up timers on lights, TVs and music devices at appropriate times.
• Pause any delivery subscriptions like flowers, wine, newspapers and so on, so you don’t have unopened packages left at your door. 

You might also want to keep your travel plans private and avoid sharing details of how long you’ll be away for on social media.  

Home and contents insurance exists to help cover the cost of repairing or replacing your home and possessions in the event of theft or malicious damage (amongst other insured events). 

If it’s been a while since you last updated your home insurance, it’s worth double-checking your policy to make sure you’re adequately covered for the things you care about. 

Safety comes first. Move to a safe place, don’t confront the intruder, and always call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency. 

Following a break-in, make sure you:

• call the police to make a report
• don’t touch anything (this can interfere with the investigation)
• make a list of missing items and damage
• contact your insurance company, who will help you with the claims process
• reach out for support if you need it.

All content on the NRMA Insurance Blog is intended to be general in nature and does not constitute and is not intended to be professional advice.