Avoiding A Break-in

Lean over the fence and say hello. Exchange phone numbers and let them know when you’re away. If someone’s snooping around, a watchful neighbour can be your best friend.

Burglar alarms and security lights are great deterrents, but also consider smart security cameras. If a burglar door-knocks first (a common tactic for targeting) a good smart camera system won’t just capture the criminal, it will also send you an alert and allow you to say: “Oi, get off my property!”

Burglars love TVs, electronics and jewellery, so hide these or secure them with cable locks. Make sure you don’t leave a ladder lying around. And leave spare car keys with family or the neighbour. Taking your car or coming back for it is another common ploy.

Put a light in your living room on a timer. Put your mail on hold. Cancel the paper. Get the neighbour to clear any junk mail. Ask family to take out and in the rubbish. Park a car in your driveway. Do whatever you can to make your house look busy and lively. This is a deterrent for would-be burglars.

Even with all this, unfortunately you could still get burgled so make sure your valuables are protected. If you don’t have contents insurance, get a quote now. If you have cover, use our contents calculator to check you have enough. And take photos of your valuables, including serial numbers and receipts. This will make any claim easier. Speaking of photos, make sure you back up these to the cloud. That way a stolen computer, won’t mean stolen memories too.

If you’re going away for longer than 60 days then let us know, so we can make sure things are still all good with your cover. There may be additional things we need you to do, however we can chat through this when you give us a call.

You’ll find making a claim with State is quick and easy. If you come home to a burglary, follow these simple steps:

1. Call the Police immediately on 105 (unless you catch burglars in the act, then call 111)¹
2. Don’t touch things until the Police tell you it’s OK.
3. Ask your neighbours if they’ve seen anything
4. Then lodge your claim online or by giving us a call on 0800 80 24 24 (have your Police reference number handy)

Upload any photos or receipts to your State Online Account², this will help us process your claim quicker.

¹The Police will give you an Incident reference number. We’ll need this, so make sure you keep it handy. Provide this to us, along with any photos or receipts, and we’ll get busy sorting out your claim.