Burglary damage: what you must do right away for your Dutch insurer

First steps immediately after a burglary

The moment you come home and discover a break-in is confusing and emotional. Your first impulse might be to rush inside, see what is missing and start tidying up immediately. Yet it is precisely in these first few minutes that staying calm and acting deliberately matters most. Everything you do now — or fail to do — has direct consequences for your safety, the police investigation and ultimately the handling of your insurance claim. The steps below help you set the right priorities from the very first moment. Remember that your insurer will later ask about the exact sequence of events, the extent of the damage and the police report. The more thorough you are now, the less room there is for disputes later on.

Filing a police report: the key to your insurance claim

Reporting the burglary to the police is not just a civic duty — in practice it is a strict requirement enforced by virtually every contents and buildings insurer in the Netherlands. Without a copy of the official police report (proces-verbaal) or the crime reference number (aangiftebewijs) stating your address, the date of the burglary and a summary of the damage, your insurer will typically refuse to process your claim or reject it outright. Most insurers only accept reports made within 24 to 48 hours of discovering the break-in. Any delay can raise questions about the credibility of your claim, so do not postpone this step. You can report the crime in person at your local police station, but many regions in the Netherlands now also offer the option to file a report digitally via the police website. However, for a domestic burglary with visible forced-entry damage, the police almost always prefer an in-person report at the scene, because this allows forensic evidence to be collected immediately.

When making your statement to the police, it is essential to be as factual and complete as possible. State the exact time window during which the burglary must have occurred, describe how the intruder got in (forced door, smashed window, open window) and list everything that was taken or damaged. Be honest about the value of stolen items — exaggerating can cause problems during the claims process, while undervaluing them harms your own interests. In addition to the standard police report, some insurers also have their own claim form that you must complete separately. This form is often submitted together with a copy of your police report and the stolen-items list. A special situation arises when theft occurs without visible signs of forced entry — for instance via an unlocked door or with lost keys. In such cases the police report is even more important, but insurers typically apply stricter acceptance conditions; read more about theft without forced entry and your Dutch insurance.

Documenting the damage and gathering evidence thoroughly

Once the police have been and you have filed your report, the real documentation work begins. This is arguably the most critical phase for a successful insurance claim, because everything you now capture in photos, videos and written records forms the backbone of your dossier. An insurer can only pay out on the basis of what is demonstrable. The more concrete and visual your documentation, the less likely it is that disputes will later arise about the scale of damage, the value of stolen goods or whether certain items were even in your possession. Start by systematically going through every room and take your time; an extra half hour of documentation can be worth hundreds or thousands of euros in the final payout. Also make sure to keep any purchase receipts, warranty certificates and original packaging you still have — these are invaluable when substantiating the value of stolen items.

• Break-in damage to the property itself: forced front and internal doors, smashed windows, damaged frames and doorposts, destroyed locks and cylinders, damage to shutters or awnings, and forced-entry marks on walls or floors around the point of entry.
• The condition of every room that was searched: photograph the scene exactly as you found it — empty drawers pulled out of cabinets, open cupboards, items knocked over on the floor, and the exact spots where valuable possessions are now missing.
• Valuable possessions for which you still have photos or purchase receipts: jewellery, watches, electronics, designer furniture and art. Place an old photo of the item next to the empty space in your home for extra context when the loss adjuster visits.
• Any traces left by the intruder: discarded tools such as screwdrivers or crowbars, footprints near the entry point, damage to a fence or gate where the intruder entered the property, and shards of glass on the windowsill.
• Overview photos of every affected room from at least two different angles, so the insurer gets a complete picture of the extent of the search and the total impact of the burglary.

In addition to photos, a written inventory of stolen goods is indispensable. This list needs to go beyond 'laptop gone' or 'jewellery stolen'. For each item, note the brand, type and model, the serial number (if known), the estimated purchase date, the original purchase price and the estimated current-day value. For expensive items such as cameras, bicycles, laptops and jewellery, a copy of the purchase receipt or a bank statement showing the transaction is the strongest evidence an insurer will accept. If you no longer have these, old photographs showing the item, warranty certificates or even previous insurance schedules with itemised specifications can help. Most Dutch insurers pay out the market value (dagwaarde) — the value the item had just before the burglary — unless your policy explicitly includes a new-for-old (nieuwwaarde) arrangement for certain categories. Check your policy terms before filling in the amounts. A realistic estimate of the total value of your household contents is also important going forward; a contents valuation checklist helps you determine your insured amount correctly and avoid underinsurance.

Break-in damage to your property versus stolen belongings

After a burglary, many people are surprised by the question of exactly which insurance policy covers what. In the Dutch system the distinction is clear but not always intuitive: physical damage to the property itself — the forced doorframe, the smashed window, the destroyed front door — falls under the buildings insurance (opstalverzekering), whereas stolen possessions fall under the contents insurance (inboedelverzekering). For homeowners who own their property, having both types of cover is quite standard and is often required by the mortgage provider. Tenants typically only need a contents insurance policy, because the buildings insurance is in most cases arranged by the landlord. Important nuance: this only applies to standard building components such as walls, window frames, doors and fitted kitchen units. Damage to items you as a tenant have installed yourself — such as a floor you laid or light fittings you bought — falls under your own contents policy. The table below shows an overview of the most common damage items and which insurance they are generally covered by.

*Note: the exact cover varies by insurer and by policy. Terms such as 'often covered' and 'generally not' reflect what is common in the Dutch insurance market, but your specific policy may differ. Always consult your own policy terms and schedule for binding information. When in doubt, you may want to compare policies thoroughly — for instance through a commission-free buildings insurance comparison or a commission-free contents insurance comparison — so that you are not caught out at the very moment you need coverage most.

Emergency repairs and lock replacement: what are you allowed to do already?

A smashed window or a forced door not only makes your home unsafe, but also leaves it vulnerable to further damage from rain, wind or a subsequent intrusion. It is entirely logical that you want to fix this quickly, but from an insurance perspective there is an important nuance. The general rule applied by most Dutch insurers is: you may carry out emergency repairs to secure the property and prevent further consequential damage, but you must wait with permanent repairs until the insurer's loss adjuster (schade-expert) has assessed the situation. Replacing an entire door, completely repainting damaged frames, or installing a wholly new window frame is generally regarded as a permanent repair that should only be done after the insurer's approval. Always keep all receipts for emergency materials carefully; these costs can be claimed as part of your overall damage claim.

• Board up a smashed window with a wooden panel or sturdy plastic sheeting to prevent rain ingress and further damage, but leave the broken glass in place as much as possible so the loss adjuster can see the forced-entry marks.
• Fit a temporary padlock, an extra bolt or a wooden bar to secure a forced door — these temporary measures are reimbursable provided you keep the receipts and contact your insurer beforehand or immediately after taking the emergency action.
• Before calling a locksmith, always speak to your insurer first; some insurers work with preferred suppliers and will only cover the costs if you use a contracted provider.
• Take photos of the emergency repair being carried out and of the situation beforehand, so you can demonstrate to the insurer that the emergency measure was both necessary and proportionate.
• Wait with permanently replacing locks, cylinders and complete door panels until the loss adjuster has visited — unless your insurer gives explicit verbal approval over the phone to proceed with immediate replacement.

Submitting the claim to your insurer: a step-by-step plan

Once you have gathered all your documentation — the police report, the photo series, the stolen-items list and any purchase receipts — it is time to officially notify your insurer of the damage. Most Dutch insurers ask you to do this within a few working days of discovering the burglary, but the exact reporting deadline is stated in your policy terms and can vary from 48 hours to two weeks. The sooner you report, the better. The initial notification can often be made by phone, through an online portal, or via a claim form on the insurer's website. After notification you are usually given a claim reference number which you should use in all subsequent communication. Below is a step-by-step plan for submitting a thorough and complete claim.

After submitting the claim, it typically takes between two and six weeks to receive a final decision on the payout, depending on the complexity of the claim and how quickly you provide all the requested information. Stay proactive during this period: if you hear nothing, do not hesitate to call after about a week and a half for a status update. If your claim is unexpectedly rejected or the payout is lower than you anticipated, you have the right to commission an independent expert (contra-expertise) or to take the matter to the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Institute (KiFiD). The trick is to leave nothing to chance during this phase — and that is precisely why it can be valuable to take a calm look at your entire insurance package. Just as a burglary reveals how current your cover still is, other life events help you determine whether you are paying too much or are underinsured. A free non-life insurance check gives you insight into premiums, cover and deductibles in one go, without any obligation to switch.

Common mistakes after a burglary — and how to avoid them

In the chaos and emotion of a burglary, making mistakes is only human. Yet certain errors can have serious consequences for your insurance claim. It is therefore worth knowing the most common pitfalls before you find yourself in this situation — or to correct them quickly if you are already in the middle of it. The list below is based on what Dutch insurers frequently see in burglary claims and where claims can be delayed, reduced or, in exceptional cases, rejected. Bear in mind that these are general patterns; your own policy may turn out differently.

• Cleaning up too quickly and thereby destroying evidence: the moment you vacuum, throw away glass shards or remove damaged parts before the loss adjuster has visited, you lose valuable physical evidence that supports the severity of the forced entry.
• Not reporting to the police because the damage 'seems minor anyway': even for a relatively small burglary, the police report is an absolute requirement for most Dutch insurers; without this document you risk having your entire claim rejected, regardless of the amount involved.
• Not taking any photos and relying on a verbal description alone: in the event of a dispute, an insurer can hardly base a decision solely on your words; photos and videos are objective evidence that support your account and minimise discussion about what actually happened.
• Listing items on the stolen-items list that you no longer owned or that were already broken: insurers can carry out spot checks and request purchase receipts, and deliberately misrepresenting stolen goods is typically excluded from cover in the policy terms — in the worst case the entire claim can be rejected.
• Not checking the insured amount and blindly trusting an old policy: if your household contents have grown over the years but your insured amount has remained the same, you are underinsured and will only receive a proportional payout in the event of a claim — this can literally cost you thousands of euros.
• Reporting the damage too late and thereby exceeding the notification deadline in your policy: every insurer imposes a deadline within which you must report a burglary; exceeding it can mean your claim is no longer processed, so check this deadline in your policy and act immediately.

Beyond these immediate pitfalls, there is another important point that is often overlooked: periodically reviewing your entire insurance package. A burglary is a harsh trigger to ask yourself whether all your non-life insurance policies still match your current living situation, household composition and possessions. Just as you would review your policies after a major life event such as moving house or starting a family, this event gives you a concrete moment to test your cover against reality. Policies taken out years ago may now be too expensive, too limited or, on the contrary, overlapping with other coverage. By comparing periodically — whether through a free insurance check or by reviewing all policy terms yourself — you avoid paying unnecessary premiums or, conversely, being left with too little cover when you actually need to claim. And just as fire damage brings extra costs that you may not have anticipated beforehand, a burglary can also trigger additional expenses such as temporary accommodation or psychological aftercare — which may be covered by your policy, provided you have the right modules insured. It is always worth checking.