Home break-in statistics

Home burglaries have gone down 73% over the past 10 years. Homeowners insurance covers theft. Here’s the latest facts and figures on home burglaries in 2022.

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Kara McGinleySenior Editor & Licensed Home Insurance ExpertKara McGinley is a former senior editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she specialized in homeowners and renters insurance. As a journalist and as an insurance expert, her work and insights have been featured in Forbes Advisor, Kiplinger, Lifehacker, MSN, WRAL.com, and elsewhere.

Edited by

Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
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Reviewed by

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Certified Financial PlannerIan Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

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Home break-in rates may be on the decline, but it’s still a very real issue: Over 1.5 million homes fell victim to property crimes in 2020, according to the FBI. [1] This resulted in a combined loss of $17.5 billion, not including arson crimes. Fortunately, your homeowners insurance coverage can protect your home and belongings in case you end up on the wrong side of these statistics.

Home break-ins by the numbers  

  • 522,426 burglaries occurred in the U.S. in 2020 [2]

  • 62% of those burglaries were home break-ins [3]

  • 24% of all burglaries were committed by people who knew their victim in 2020 [4]

  • $2,661 was the average loss per burglary in 2019 [5]

  • 290,909 home burglaries took place during the daytime in 2019 [6]

  • 56% of burglaries involved forcible entry in 2019 [7]

  • 38% of burglars walked into an unlocked home in 2019 [8]

  • 1.4 million firearms were stolen during home burglaries and other property crimes from 2005 to 2010 [9]

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Home break-ins per year

Home burglaries decreased 73% over the past 10 years, according to our analysis of FBI data. [10] [11] Here’s a look at how the numbers shake out.

Year

Number of home burglaries

2010

1,402,214

2011

1,430,740

2012

1,381,122

2013

1,428,448

2014

1,253,915

2015

1,136,664

2016

1,054,470

2017

942,734

2018

685,766

2019

576,607

2020

377,805

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Does homeowners insurance cover home break-ins?

Yes, homeowners insurance protects your home and personal property in the event of a break-in. This includes replacing items that were stolen, as well as covering damage to your home caused by the break-in.

When it comes to replacing your stolen property, how much your insurance company shells out depends on what type of policy you have.

  • Replacement cost home policy: Your insurer pays for your belongings as if they were new.

  • Actual cost value policy: Your insurer pays for your belongings based on their depreciated value.

Most standard homeowners insurance policies come with actual cost value coverage for personal property. However, you can add on replacement cost coverage for an additional expense. While replacement cost policies are more expensive, it may be worth it to ensure your belongings are fully protected.

→ Learn more: Actual cost value vs. replacement cost insurance policies

Expensive or rare personal property comes with coverage sublimits

When it comes to more expensive personal property — like jewelry, fire arms, and fine china — insurers set a sublimit, which is basically a cap on how much they’ll pay out for a theft loss. For example, Firearms typically have a collective sublimit of $2,500, so your insurer won’t pay out any more than that for covered theft loss. 

How to protect your home from break-ins and save on homeowners insurance

You can protect your home from break-ins by fortifying it with things like burglary alarms and smart cameras. And bonus: You may even get a discount from your home insurance company for these. Many insurers offer discounts if you make your home safer, because that means you’re less likely to file a claim. 

The table below compares the average annual cost of homeowners insurance vs. the average cost when you install safety features like deadbolts, smoke alarms, and burglary alarms.

Average cost of homeowners insurance

Average cost with a deadbolt

Percentage difference

Average cost with a smoke alarm

Percentage difference

Average cost with a burglar alarm

Percentage difference

$1,754

$1,897

-0.09%

$1,892

-0.37%

$1,846

-2.97%

→ Take a deeper dive into homeowners insurance and theft

References

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Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.

  1. FBI Crime Data Explorer

    . "

    Trend of Violent Crime from 2010 to 2020

    ." Accessed November 11, 2021.

  2. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division

    . "

    2019 Crime in the United States

    ." Accessed November 11, 2021.

  3. Bureau of Justice Statistics

    . "

    Firearms Stolen During Household Burglaries and Other Property Crimes, 2005-2010

    ." Accessed November 11, 2021.

Author

Kara McGinley is a former senior editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she specialized in homeowners and renters insurance. As a journalist and as an insurance expert, her work and insights have been featured in Forbes Advisor, Kiplinger, Lifehacker, MSN, WRAL.com, and elsewhere.

Editor

Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

Expert reviewer

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

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