Locking the door may seem like the most basic step to take to keep your home safe from burglars, but it would seem that not everyone in the UK takes this precaution – with Londoners the least likely to lock up.
A survey conducted by Nationwide found that even though Londoners were the most worried about burglary, more than a fifth (21.8%) didn’t always lock the door. The survey also showed that those living in the city were less likely to lock up than those who lived in the country.
It also found that people aged between 25 and 34 were the most worried about burglary – but around a fifth in this age group were lax with locking the door.
Some 25% of those surveyed had been burgled in the past, with respondents from Yorkshire and London representing the highest percentage. More than half (51%) thought they should take more precautions to keep their home safe, and around a quarter (25%) of people felt that they were at risk of being burgled. Those who felt at risk were no more likely to have contents insurance, though, and there was no notable difference between those who had and had not been burgled and the likelihood that they had taken out contents insurance.
While the financial cost of burglary can be large – the mean value of stolen items in England and Wales amounts to £2,267 (Crime Survey for England and Wales, ONS) – personal information was named as something people would be most upset to lose. This was followed by tech in second place, and money in third.
More than a quarter (26%) had moved home because of a burglary, while a further 16% who had been burgled were considering moving as a result.
At 79%, most of those surveyed had contents insurance. Those based in Greater London were the most likely to take out extra contents insurance after being burgled (49%), while Wales was the least likely (56%), followed by the South West (59%) and the South East (65%).
Broken down by age, those in the younger groups were the most likely to take out extra contents insurance after being burgled, at 47% for 16 to 24-year-olds and 51% for those aged 25 to 34.
Online survey conducted by Nationwide in partnership with Havas Media Group and Toluna Research, nationally representative of 1,000 UK residents.
