How to deal with a burglary at your business

Crimes against businesses have fallen in the last five years, but this doesn’t mean you can afford to rest on your laurels. There is one burglary every 13 seconds in the UK.

The majority of people targeted are homeowners, but businesses can also be targeted, particularly when there is anything of value stored on the premises, such as tools, IT equipment, and cash.

Before we look at how to deal with a burglary, it is worth pointing out that insurance is critical. Without adequate insurance cover, your losses could be severe. Can you really afford to lose all your IT equipment, the contents of your safe, and pay for the building to be repaired after intruders ripped a boiler off the wall and water flooded the place? Always make sure you are covered – check out applescottinsurance.com for more details of business insurance.

The fallout from a burglary is long-lasting, but you need to maintain your sense of calm in the aftermath of a burglary. Losing the plot now will only create more problems.

Stay Safe

Put your personal safety at the fore. If you arrive at work and there is evidence of a break-in, don’t rush in to see what’s been taken. The intruders could still be on the site. Instead, call the police and wait for them to arrive. The same applies if a security alarm is triggered late at night and you are the keyholder. It’s probably a false alarm, but don’t take any chances.

Contact Your Insurance Company

Once the police are on-site, call your insurance company to report the incident. Give them some preliminary information so they can get a claim started. This will include a police incident number, approximate date and time of the incident, a rough idea of the damage and details of any injuries to personnel.

The insurance company should talk you through the claims process. They may also send an insurance adjuster to visit you.

Carry Out an Inventory

Once you have called the police and the premises are secured, inspect everything to see what’s been damaged or stolen. Carry out a full inventory. This is essential if you are filing an insurance claim for losses.

If you discover chequebooks, credit cards, bank statements, etc., have been taken, call your bank/credit card companies immediately. It takes very little time for criminals to make use of financial data for their own nefarious purposes. The sooner you can freeze accounts, the better.

Call Your Customers

Business is likely to be disrupted for at least a day, possibly longer, so start calling customers to let them know what’s happening. They need to know why you’re not answering the phones or that their order is likely to be delayed. Be upfront about what’s happened. Reassure them that business will be back to normal ASAP.

Review Security

Review how and why this happened, so see if there is anything you can do to prevent another incident. For example, if you didn’t have an alarm system and video surveillance, now is a good time to install a better system.

It is better to be prepared for such an event than to have to deal with the additional burden of having to find the finances to cover any losses, so make sure you use the guide above to help you and ensure you have insurance in place.