Coming home and finding that your home was broken into can be frightening. You may naturally feel vulnerable and scared and feel you can’t ever be safe again. This is understandable since, in 2010 alone, there were over 2,159,800 burglaries, according to the FBI, not to mention burglaries accounted for more than 23 percent of the approximate number of property crimes during this year.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take however to clean up after a burglary to your home and feel safe again.
Call the Police
The absolute first thing you need to do the minute you suspect a burglary in your home is to call the police. Although you may want to call your loved ones first, calling the police first will get a report of the incident on record and set things in motion to find the burglar and hopefully retrieve your belongings. Also, you don’t know if the burglar could still be around, so it’s important to call the police and get them to your home immediately for your own safety.
Don’t go into your home if you discover it’s been robbed. Don’t touch anything before the police get there since doing so could destroy evidence the police will need to find and potentially prosecute the burglar.
Contact Your Independent Insurance Agent
Once the police arrive and things seem under control, your next step is to take a list of your stolen or damaged items during the burglary. Then you call your insurance company. Your homeowners insurance coverage will come in handy.
Prepare for Robbers to Come Back
It may come as a surprise, but once you’re robbed, you could be at a higher risk of being burglarized again. In some cases, burglars will wait until you repurchase stolen items through your insurance reimbursement and then come back and burglarize your home again.
Therefore, it’s essential you make it clear that you’re not vulnerable anymore by taking necessary steps to secure your home. You will find a number of home security systems available that offer both professional and do-it-yourself monitoring. Both types will protect your home.
You may also want to buy or upgrade window and door locks, install security cameras and buy motion-sensitive lights for the outside of your home. It wouldn’t hurt to even put up a “home security system” or “beware of dog” sign in the front yard, even if you don’t have either. These types of signs work great as deterrents.
It can be quite stressful having your home robbed. You will likely feel unsafe and vulnerable since your home is supposed to be the one place you do feel safe in. However, you can work with a home security company and have a home security system installed which is the first step to feeling safe again in your home.
Of course, even if you have security measures in place to safeguard your home against burglaries, they still do happen every day. That’s why it’s important that you work with your independent insurance agent to get the best homeowners insurance for the best cost.
