Home insurance claims are most common in London despite Manchester taking the top spot in a moneysupermarket.com survey.

The top 20 theft hot spots were discovered by moneysupermarket.com with a Manchester postcode showing as the area where most home insurance claims are made.

But London still remains the City with the biggest proportion of burglary claims, filling the largest chunk of the 20 places in the list.

The price comparison website analysed over 1.1 million home insurance enquiries made on the site in 2009 and found London held ten of the top 20 postcode districts most likely to have made a claim for theft, an increase of 100 per cent on the previous year.

Last summer insurers handled almost 80,000 domestic burglary claims paying out £84 million.

Close behind London were Manchester, Leeds and Bristol, each of which have two postcode districts in the top 20.

The research revealed Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, the suburban area of the city of Manchester takes the top spot overall in the UK, while Blackheath and Hammersmith are the most ‘at-risk’ postcode districts in London for theft-related insurance claims.

Julie Owens, head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com said: “Home is where the heart is and there’s no denying that having it burgled is an emotional and frightening experience. Major cities, like London and Manchester, and affluent areas are a target for criminals and the research highlights a broad mix of areas across the north and south of the UK so it is clear that no matter where you live, there is always a risk your home could become a victim of theft and it is therefore vital you have adequate home insurance cover in place, something many people still do not do.

She warned that homes are widely affected by their postcode’s reputation with insurers offering a ‘blanket’ approach to insurance policies in certain areas.

“This really needs to change; if houses are evaluated on a case by case basis it would mean homeowners received quotes at the best possible prices for their individual circumstances,” she added.

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