RECENT CRIME REPORTS IN THE MEDIA

I have received some emails from residents in the area expressing concern about some newspaper articles on Friday and also some comment on the television and other media outlets naming LS16 as one of the two areas in the UK with the highest number of burglaries. I have chased this up to try and find out what is behind all of this and it appears based on the press release I have the journalism has not been too accurate. The press release refers to areas in the Weetwood area being of particular concern but the journalists appear to have used the information in the paragraph headed “safe as houses” and the table below listing numbers 1 to 20 in terms of the 20 UK postcode districts most likely to claim for theft on their home insurance not that these are the highest areas for burglary. The table below was also used to  set out the various areas of LS16 . Hopefully this information will help in the understanding of why this problem has occurred.

LONDON CROWNED UK’S BURGLARY CLAIM CAPITAL

• London home to 12 of the top 20 burglary insurance claim hotspots
• M21 postcode in Manchester has most burglary claims overall
• Leeds area sees biggest decrease in burglary claims hotspots
• Households in ‘high risk’ areas pay an average 24 per cent more per year for insurance

London has taken the crown as the UK’s burglary claim capital in the latest burglary claims research from MoneySuperMarket, as Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool are also named as hotspots for burglary insurance claims.¹

The UK’s number one comparison site analysed 3.1 million home insurance quotes run on the site over 12 months for the annual MoneySuperMarket Burglary Claims Tracker, which reveals where homeowners are most likely to have made a previous claim for theft and burglary. The tracker found M21, the Manchester postal district that includes suburban Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Barlow Moor, tops the list for overall burglary claim hotspots.² However, it is London that dominates the postcode districts most likely to have made a claim for theft or burglary, taking 12 of the top 20 postcodes.

North London’s sought-after leafy suburbs of Muswell Hill (N10), East Finchley and Hampstead Garden Suburb (both N2) are rife for burglary claims, as they sit third and fifth in the chart. On the other side of the river, the capital’s southern postcode SE24 (Herne Hill and Tulse Hill) takes second spot, with east London’s Dagenham in fourth place (RM8). Cities Birmingham and Liverpool each have two postcode districts in the top 20.

“Safe as houses”

Those living in Leeds have benefitted from the biggest reduction in burglary claims. Over the last two years, the annual Burglary Claims Tracker has found LS postcodes featured in five out of the top twenty hotspots, with LS13 (made up of Bramley, Gamble Hill, Moorside, Rodley and Swinnow) topping the charts in 2011, and then taking fifth place in 2012.⁴ In 2013’s claims, however, Leeds is only featured once, with LS16 (Eccup, Far Headingley, Lawnswood, and West Park) taking eighteenth spot. Bradford, which previously hosted 5 of the top 20 hotspots, is now completely absent from the UK’s top burglary claim hotspots.

Further analysis of the impact on home insurance premiums shows that on average, householders living in higher risk postcodes will pay 24 per cent more for their cover, compared to the national average – or an extra £36 per year for their policy.

Notes to editors

¹ MoneySuperMarket’s annual Burglary Claims Tracker:

 3.1 million quotes run on the MoneySupermarket home insurance site between 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2013

Burglary figures are based on claims made in the last two years, at the current address lived in, and13.9k ‘theft of contents’ claims were analysed to determine the hotspots

² The 20 UK postcode districts most likely to claim for theft on their home insurance: