Handbag theft – are you covered?

It costs around £109 to replace a stolen handbag. Get covered by your home contents insurance – and learn how to beat the bag snatchers.

More than a fifth of UK women – 21 per cent – have had their bag stolen, according to a 2009 study by Direct Line. And two-thirds believe there will be an escalation of handbag theft as the recession deepens.

The value of our handbag contents has also risen. It’s not just makeup, cash and credit cards that we are carrying but expensive portable devices such as mobile phones and MP3 players. The average bill to replace bag and contents is now £109, although nearly one in ten of us now carry around £250 worth of possessions on our arm or shoulder.

Which means they are items that you may want to insure, as well as taking care not to become a victim of handbag theft in the first place.

Keep your bag close

Always keep your eye on your handbag in public places – a quarter of UK women admitted to not doing this in the Direct Line survey.

Know the risk areas

Pubs are the most likely place for handbags to be stolen, with 14 per cent of thefts taking place there. Look for handbag clips under tables and use them. Other hotspots are the workplace, shops and supermarkets, nightclubs and cars.

Close the clasp

Keep your handbag zipped or snapped shut, and secure contents in separate compartments.

Avoid identity theft

Don’t carry personal documents in your handbag. Combined with credit cards, it can make it easy for someone to steal your identity. If your house keys are in your bag, too, they’ll know where you live.

If your handbag is stolen

Cancel your cards, report the theft to the police and obtain a crime reference number – this will help back up any potential instances of identity theft.

Arrange personal possessions cover

Handbag theft outside the home could be covered by your Direct Line Contents Insurance (from a minimum of £2,500) if you have taken out the optional personal possessions cover. Get a full home insurance quote online here.

Read on… improve your home security with our Beat the burglar checklist.