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[Shanikus]

Our neighbours were broken into in January - again, Lordship Lane end of Underhill - then in early February a burgler broke in through the French doors of a family opposite us when the Mum was bathing her child in bathroom. Stole handbag with car keys in and car was stolen. I saw a bobby on foot patrol yesterday - more of these needed!

[stephen509]

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[Loz]

stephen509 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Exactly what this thread is for. Well done.

>

> Everyone should get contents insurance & make sure

> they have best possible preventions in place.

And don't skimp on the valuation of your possessions. There is a weird rule that says if you have, say, ?20k worth of stuff and only have ?10k worth of insurance, then you are deemed under-insured by 50%. If you then have ?4000 of stuff nicked, they will only pay out ?2000.

[simonethebeaver]

I don't get that. Surely if you have 20k of possessions and 10k of insurance then you ARE under-insured?

This thread has made us very careful. We are right in the middle of the area and our neighbour was burgled before Christmas in the early evening. I really hope increased patrols catch the bastards soon.

[trizza]

Yes, if you have ?20K of possessions and ?10k of insurance then you are under insured.

It's likely your contents insurance will contain an "average clause". Essentially, this will provide for the reduction of any claim settlement in proportion to the amount of underinsurance. So, in that example, you could potentially only get 50% of the value of the items insured up to the ?10k limit. A nasty surprise if you ever have to claim.

It's really important to make sure you have the right level of cover.

[dirty tree]

It is obvious that the Barry Rd,LL and Underhill Rd triangle is a current hot spot for burglaries so pls spread the word to neighbours who may not be on the forum to make them aware.

Be extra vigilant peeps and look out for loiterers, watch outs, people "looking for someone" etc. Follow your gut feeling and if your instincts start to tingle then call the police.

Fit window and door locks, install PIR flood lights. CCTV is also very cheap now and can be linked up to your hard drive to record remotely even at night.

Let's hope they get caught asap.

[Penguin68]

It is always a good idea, to avoid claims of under-insurance, if you specifically exclude from any contents insured stuff you don't want to cover. So if you have loads of paperbacks, but are not worried about them being stolen or lost, exclude them from your cover - that way the 'nominal' value of paperbacks (probably now about ?30-?40 a foot - used to be ?20 many years ago) doesn't count towards your insured value (only an issue in this case if you have lots of books).

Remember that you will also have to list anything which is in a 'collection' (i.e. coins, stamps etc.) - where the individual elements may be below the 'individual item value' - where you have to list items - but the collection value as a whole is above it. If anything does happen, loss adjusters will look for all the reasons they can to pay out less than you would want them them to. It pays you not to give them that opportunity.

There are many items (i.e. mobile phones) which can be included on your household cover and which are normally cheaper to insure in that way than through specialist insurance from e.g. service providers.

[spanglysteve]

This whole insurance thing makes no sense to me. How does "Under-insurance" work. If I have ?40k of possession and only insure upto ?20k, surely that means any claim should be limited to ?20k, that way its my loss if ?40k is stolen. What @rseholes!

[jrpfinch]

Underinsurance is not a good idea. Some policies use the concept of averaging, eg if you underinsure by 50% then any claim, even if it is under the sum insured, gets cut by 50%. The idea is that even though an item is not insured, it makes your house more likely to be burgled. Check the small print.

[Sharon12]

I live on Hillcourt someone broke in during the end of December 2012 they forced through the front window. the home is basically empty of any goods, therefore all that was taken was an American toshiba laptop. It sucks because I had saved many pics of my newborn on my laptop.

[mischief]

Just to let you all know,my neighbour, a lady who is 96, had her front door kicked in, her inside door was literally smashed in half, at approx 9.30pm tonight. Luckily she is quite deaf so slept through it, she wasn't harmed and is now with her family. Her TV was taken from the sitting room and some jewellery from the room she was sleeping in. The guy who was boarding up the door said he had already been to a similar incident on Goodwich Road earlier tonight.

[stephen509]

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[RockyZool]

I came home around midnight to dunstans road. Saw a police car on Goodrich near the school and then a man in a white van with a large board of wood on dunstans. I presume these are related to the events described.

[jane1]

I don't know if any 1 heard or saw but at about 1.30 this morning there was a police helicopter flying around over Barry road,

[Peckhampoet]

It is so awful to read about what happened to this poor woman. Imagine having your front door kicked in! I am shaking my head in despair. Thank goodness she is ok but how shocking.

[mintsauce]

Also happened to our flat on Dunstans Road, came home to the inner door kicked in. Apparently their were a good number that occurred last night.

[Jacqui5254]

And it happened around 9.30pm when the flats around were occupied. There were no lights on at the front so maybe that made it more of a target. Police stressed importance of having front door frames reinforced with metal strips as well as good locks. Really sorry to hear that it happened to other people last night also.

[ianr]

They most probably rang or knocked at the door several times first, and kicked their way in when there was clearly no response. If she'd heard them, and answered, they'd have asked if their friend lived there.

[Sharon12]

Back in December, my home was broken into. they used a cro-bar and pull open the window. Apparently the theives had been watching our going and comings, I had just gave birth and stayed a couple of nights away though I checked on the home daily they still managed to break in. They took my Lap-top.

Police came and took finger prints.

From that moment on I have a someone at the home 24hr.

I live off Underhill.