One in 10 British homes are burgled while the occupants are away on holiday, research from Churchill Home Insurance has found.
An average of £3,288 worth of goods is stolen while the owners are away from their homes on holiday, on a weekend break, or out for a day trip, the insurer said, and homeowners should protect their belongings with home insurance.
Burglars' stealing habits have changed however, as they are now foregoing large items such as television sets and sound systems, as they go for goods that are easier to carry, such as DVDs, CDs, and jewellery.
Other popular items include electrical equipment, such as games consoles, laptops, and gadgets such as mobile phones, cameras and MP3 players.
Claire Foster, spokesperson for Churchill Home Insurance, commented:
"Arriving back from a holiday or a quick break to discover your home has been broken into is an awful experience for anyone to endure. Whilst insurance cannot prevent burglary, it can provide reassurance that the monetary value of anything stolen is covered.
"We would urge homeowners to ensure their contents insurance is fully up to date and high value items are individually listed."
Burglars are also devising ingenious ways to enter your property without leaving a trace. The practise is called bumping and it involves using a skeleton key, bought on the Internet, to access the cylinder mechanism that opens most locks.
The worrying fact is bumping leaves no trace, so many insurance companies may refuse to cover such burglaries as there would be no proof that the homeowner did not leave the door unlocked.
Head of Churchill Home Insurance, Martin Scott, said: "Our findings show that burglars will target homes on week nights as well as weekends and that homes need to be secure at all times, whether people are at home or not."
Churchill also recommends some home security measures for when people leave their homes to go on holiday, such as removing valuables from view, and putting things into storage if they will be away for longer than 30 days as they might not be covered by home insurance.
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