Before answering your question, I recently came across some stats about home burglaries, that I thought you might find interesting.
On average there is about one break-in every three minutes in Canada, and the majority of these are residential break-ins (source: Statistics Canada), and according to Aviva Canada, one of the home insurance companies we work with here at InsuranceHotline.com:
- Residential burglary claims increase dramatically over the summer months.
- The average value of a burglary claim to the insurer has increased 27 per cent over the last five years from $5,695 to $7,243.
- Break-ins are more common on Fridays, and least common on Sundays.
The good news is that break-ins are becoming less common today than they were 10 years ago. Of course, leaving your keys in the door by mistake might be all too inviting for a would-be thief as many are opportunists.
So back to your question. Most likely, yes, your home insurance will cover you for the items stolen even if you left the keys in your front door giving them easy access to your home. Insurance companies typically deny coverage when there has been "gross negligence" and while leaving your keys in the door is careless, it’s something that almost all of us have done at one time or another.
