Hampton in UK's top 20 for burglary and theft claims (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Hampton in UK's top 20 for burglary and theft claims

10:16am Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News By Clare Buchanan

Hampton householders are among the most likely in the UK to make an insurance claim for theft or burglary.

The TW12 postcode district was rated as the 16th most likely to claim by comparison website MoneySupermarket, which said people living in the area paid 20 per cent more for home insurance.

The website analysed 3.5m home insurance quotes run on the site in 12 months, to compile the list of claiming hotspots, which was topped by Leeds.

The top 20 was dominated by postcodes in London, Bradford and Leeds.

The comparison site said on average people living in higher risk postcodes would pay 20 per cent more for their home insurance cover, compared with the national average, or an extra £30 per policy annually.

Hannah Jones, home insurance expert at MoneySupermarket, said although some areas of the country had a higher proportion of claims for burglary this did not mean they were rife with crime.

She said: “Thieves often specifically target areas with wealthy residents, or quieter areas where there’s not a lot of passing foot traffic, where the rewards are potentially greater and the risk of being caught in the act may be lower.

“Insurers take a blanket approach to assessing postcode districts for home insurance premiums rather than looking at insurance applications on a case by case basis.

“So, although you may not have been a victim of burglary directly, you could be paying more for insurance if there are higher rates of burglary claims made within your postal area.”