Break In with small damage and no theft: Call insurance?

andre_xs

Hi All,
Happy New Year!

Unfortunately, our house was broken into a few days ago. They didn't steal anything (looking for money or jewellery only I guess), left laptops lying around.

However, they damaged the frame of one window where they broke in (probably levered open, glass intact). Not sure yet how much this will be, but can there be a disadvantage to make a claim for home insurance (e.g., higher premium, harder to find new provider if one wants to change,...), so that it might be wise to pay for this ourselves?

Kind Regards,

Andre

lisyloo

Yes there are downsides.

Excess in many cases
Higher premiums because you've claimed
Loss of no claims bonus
Sometimes Higher premiums because you've had a loss (whether you've claimed or not). You MUST declare this I'm afraid and may get hit with anyway.

My dad (elderly and deaf) had his from door smashed in by the police and they broke the frame. Could not be repaired.
Emergency boarding was £274.
New front door and frame was £1500.

Your window should be less than a door but you need to get a quote.

Its difficult to say an exact figure but ballpark I'd guess around £600 is the point you want to be going through insurance. Bear in mind the effects listed above will increase premiums for a few years.
You can try dummy quotes for various scenarios to see the increase, but I'd use fake details to avoid spam and fraud checks.

You might be able to reuse the glass but my experience in these things (s*ds law) is that the newly made items won't be an exact fit for your old glass.

I'd get a few quotes first and see if the glass can be reused. You might be told they come as a unit but check a few places. We replace our own glass DIY when we get condensation between the double glazing, so it should be possible to put in a new frame subject to sizing.

MattMattMattUK

The advantage of not informing your insurer is that you are contractually obliged to inform them and on renewal you are required to state whether there have been any burglaries or break ins at your property, not being truthful can have implications, although many will of course risk it and get away with it, others will not. 

Lorian

Consider they may come back.

DullGreyGuy

andre_xs said:

Unfortunately, our house was broken into a few days ago. They didn't steal anything (looking for money or jewellery only I guess), left laptops lying around.

However, they damaged the frame of one window where they broke in (probably levered open, glass intact). Not sure yet how much this will be, but can there be a disadvantage to make a claim for home insurance (e.g., higher premium, harder to find new provider if one wants to change,...), so that it might be wise to pay for this ourselves?

How many other claims have you made in the last 5 years?

Others have covered off most the answers already so won't repeat them but having a single claim won't cause issues for the majority of insurers however having multiple claims, particularly in quick succession may mean some start declining to quote. Similarly those that do quote will be much higher, premiums are generally calculated as multiplication so having 2 declared claims has more impact than just doubling the loading the first claim caused. 

Unfortunately most of us lack a crystal ball but an associate had made two small claims for silly little things and then were burgled and had a kitchen fire which were both substantial claims. They really struggled to get anyone to even quote having made 4 claims in 18 months, it would have been much cheaper had they not made the c£200 claims. 

andre_xs

Thanks for all the replies.
We had one prior claim in Spring 2019, so nearly 6 years ago. Also a burglary, I guess back then the total claim was £1,000 or less, can't remember (new glass in a small window and £250 reimbursement for a stolen (oldish) laptop). No other claims since then.

Ok, I'll see how much the repairs to the window cost and then make a decision.

If I don't claim and don't change insurer, do I still have to inform the insurer?

Best wishes,

Andre

user1977

andre_xs said:

If I don't claim and don't change insurer, do I still have to inform the insurer?

As above I would expect you'll be asked to declare any insured losses at renewal, whether or not you made a claim.

DullGreyGuy

andre_xs said:

If I don't claim and don't change insurer, do I still have to inform the insurer?

Read the policy book and/or renewal notice. Certainly the norm would be that you need to inform them even if you dont shop around but then many people will "forget" to do so. Some of those forgetful types however then have a rude awakening when the insurer finds out and decides to void the policy and avoid a claim at a later date.