Home Insurance: Protect Your Home Against Theft

When the apartment of AOL Real Estate contributor Eileen Gunn was burglarized several years back, she was grateful she had insurance to cover her losses. "Most of what was stolen I wouldn't [and] couldn't replace, like jewelry, she said. "So the money I got from insurance did replace the things I wanted: My remote controls and a good set of darts."

Although at the time of the theft Gunn had renter's insurance, since moving into a new home, she continues with homeowner's insurance to help protect her valuables.

Victims of burglary in America suffered an estimated $4.6 billion in lost property in 2009, according to "Crime in the United States," an annual publication from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Overall, the average dollar-loss-per-burglary was $2,096.

Although the number of burglaries was down by 1.3 percent in 2009 from 2008, burglaries of residential properties still accounted for 72.6 percent of 2,199,125 estimated burglaries.

To lessen your chances of becoming a victim, there are several steps you can take to deter a would-be burglar, or even a squatter: