According to research and statistics, a burglary occurs in the United States every 15 seconds. This is one of the reasons why many homeowners buy their own homeowners insurance policy while the people who rent their houses purchase their own renters insurance policy in order to avoid expenses and damages caused by unexpected circumstances in their houses such as theft or burglary.
However, there is usually a written part in a renters insurance policy that states how a theft or burglary that does not involve a forcible entry will not be covered by the insurance company.
Forcible entry in insurance claims
A woman from Phoenix, named Angela White, has a rental house in Phoenix, Arizona. When she found her television, computers, and other electronic devices amounting to thousands of dollars missing when she got back to her rental house, she immediately called AMIG (American Modern Insurance Group), an insurance company where she has purchased her renters insurance policy.
When she declared that she did not see any sign of forcible entry and that she has no idea how the burglar was able to enter her rental house to steal her possessions, Angela White told reporters from CBS5 that the insurance group denied her claim which means that she is not going to get compensation for her loss. Angela also alleged that the reason why the insurance group denied her claim was because of the written part in her renters insurance policy that states that the insurance group will not cover expenses if the burglary or theft that happened on a rental house has no signs of forcible entry.
When CBS5 picked up on Angela White’s story and contacted the American Modern Insurance Group for their comments, the insurance group stated that the allegations of Angela White were not true and that they are actually in the process of investigating her burglary claim. After AMIG talked to CBS5, the insurance group quickly gave a sum of $13,000 to Angela White for her compensation.
Prevention of theft and burglaries
Renters are advised to thoroughly study and understand every aspect and element of the renters insurance policy they are purchasing from whatever insurance group. Renters and homeowners are also advised to always maintain a safe and secure house by installing safety measures such as strong and heavy duty locks, appropriate external lighting, motion sensors, alarm systems, or even CCTV cameras. Always making sure to keep the doors closed and locked at all times whether you are at home or not can also greatly help in preventing thefts and burglaries and other home-related crimes whether it involves forcible entry or not.
Forcible entry is involved in 60.5 percent of all burglaries in the United States. In the United States, about 2,000,000 home burglaries are reported to the police. The damages and costs resulting from these home burglaries can be prevented not only by purchasing your homeowners insurance policy or your renters insurance policy, but also by making sure that your house, whether rented or not, is safe and secured. Prevention is still the best way to avoid the stress, hassle, and danger of thefts and burglaries.