The ABI has urged the government to amend the Building Regulations to include security requirements for new and refurbished homes. This would benefit up to 400,000 homeowners in the first year alone and save the economy £3.2billion over the next 20 years, it claimed.

Launching the ABI report, Securing the Nation: The Case for Safer Homes, Nick Starling, the ABI's Director of General Insurance, said: “There is a compelling case for designing crime out of our homes. In London alone, over 300,000 new homes are planned in the next ten years. Burglary has a high cost, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable. A modest investment can prevent it.”

Andrew Stunell, MP, whose Private Members Bill introduced the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 enabling a security standard to be implemented into the Building Regulations, said: “We take it for granted that Building Regulations should make our homes and offices fire-proof. Why aren't they required to be crime-proof too? I welcome this report from the ABI and hope it will persuade the Government to start to include security measures in Building Regulations.”

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Victim Support, said: “Burglary can leave financial and emotional scars that may take years to heal. Sometimes the feeling that your home has been invaded never goes. Yet so much of this distress could be reduced if good security is built into new and refurbished homes.”

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