Ayrshire KA6 is ‘Scotland’s most-burgled postcode’

The KA6 postcode saw more insurance claims for burglary than any other. Picture: TSPL

Data showing insurance claims for thefts from homes and gardens found that the KA6 postcode had more claims for burglaries than anywhere else in Scotland.

The top ten areas of Scotland most likely to have made a claim for theft or burglary from their home or garden were dominated by postcodes starting with a “G” that fall within the Glasgow area.

An Edinburgh district – the EH16 postcode comprising Liberton, Cameron Toll, Craigmillar and Niddrie – came second on the overall Scottish list.

However, Scottish homeowners have made significantly fewer theft or burglary claims compared with those living in England.

The vast majority of the top burglary hotspots in the UK are located in London and Manchester. Scotland’s most at-risk postcode in East Ayrshire has just 17 burglary claims per 1,000 people – far fewer than England’s most at-risk area, the Manchester postal district M21, which has 45.2 claims per 1,000 people.

Kevin Pratt, home insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, which compiled the data, said: “There are clearly claim hotspots around the country with a higher proportion of insurance claims for burglary than others. However, this doesn’t actually mean the area is a less pleasant place to live.

“Thieves often target areas with wealthy residents, or quieter areas where there’s not much passing foot traffic, where the rewards are potentially greater and they believe the risk of being caught in the act may be lower. In the last year, the KA6 postcode has taken the top spot for burglary insurance claims in Scotland.”

At the bottom of the Scottish burglary claims scale, residents in the town of Greenock with the postcode of PA16 are least likely to have made a burglary claim, followed by those living in the FK2 postcode district.

Those living in Inverurie are third least likely to make a claim for theft or burglary.

Across the UK, the districts where people are least likely to claim for theft on their home insurance are in Hampshire, Devon and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

No Scottish areas were in the top 20 worst areas for burglary, UK-wide. Four Scots postcodes – PA16, FK2, AB51 and IV30 – did feature in the 20 least likely to make a claim.

On average, householders in higher-risk postcodes in Scotland will pay 4.6 per cent more for home insurance compared with the national average – an extra £6.50 per policy annually.

Even if a property has not previously been burgled and a householder has not made a claim, insurers often take a blanket approach to assessing postcode districts for home insurance premiums rather than looking at insurance applications on a case-by-case basis, pushing premiums upwards in higher risk areas.

However, experts said homeowners could take steps to reduce their premiums, by making their homes more secure with measures such as installing a burglar alarm, using five-lever mortise locks for external doors and installing two bolt-locks on windows.

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