hurray your mega menu works

What impact does burglary have on victims?

25% struggle to sleep. 11% can’t be home alone. 13% have moved home.

We can all imagine how devastating it must feel to be the victim of a burglary but can we truly understand unless we’ve experienced it first hand? In 2016, Churchill Insurance commissioned research into the impact of burglary, speaking to people who had suffered a break in. They asked them how they felt after the break in and what affect that has had on their lives.

If you have not been through a burglary yourself, what would you say would be the worst thing about it? The financial loss? The damage to property?

Perhaps not surprisingly, the worst aspect was deemed to be the knowledge that someone had been in their home. 45% of victims said that this had caused significant anguish. Perhaps more surprising is the loss of valuables which only 26% said was an issue. 29% of victims were upset to lose sentimental items.

In terms of the impact that burglary had, victims stated the following:

25% found it hard to sleep

13% moved house

12% said they lost confidence

11% didn’t want to be alone in the property

8% became ill

8% struggled to concentrate at work

7% had to take medication for anxiety

6% required counselling

6% had to take medication to enable them to sleep

5% were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder

One of the most disheartening aspects to this is that around 87% of burglaries are considered preventable by police (because of factors such as insufficient security and even simple things like not locking doors). We also recently posted about how 1 in 4 who have experienced a burglary before will be targeted again in the same property so it really does reinforce how important it is to do all you can to prevent burglary happening in the first place.

If you need help getting your home up to scratch call us on 0345 833 5543.

Have you been burgled?

Is it as devastating as this research suggests? If you would like to share your own experience of burglary, please leave a comment here.