Malicious Damage & Burglary Claims
Commercial Malicious Damage and Burglary Insurance Claim Ireland
A break-in, an act of vandalism or a forced entry leaves you with damage, missing stock and a business that cannot open. We prepare, document and negotiate your claim so you recover what your policy actually owes you.
CBI Regulated · No Win, No Fee · Trevor Kelly MSCSI MRICS
What Your Policy Covers
Malicious damage, vandalism and theft after a break-in
Most commercial property policies include cover for malicious damage, vandalism and theft following forcible and violent entry to your premises. In plain terms, that usually means damage caused deliberately by someone, the cost of stolen contents and stock, and the repair of the building itself where intruders broke in. The exact wording varies from policy to policy, which is why the first step is always a careful read of your own schedule and conditions.
Cover is rarely as simple as it first appears. Insurers apply security warranties, single-article limits, theft-by-deception exclusions and conditions about how the premises must be secured and alarmed. Miss one of these and a valid claim can be reduced or declined. We interpret the policy on your side and build the claim to meet every condition the insurer will test it against.
- Malicious damage deliberate destruction of property and fittings
- Theft of stock goods taken following forced entry
- Building repair doors, windows, shutters and locks
- Lost trade business interruption while you are closed
Valuing Contents & Equipment
New-for-old or indemnity: getting the basis right
How your stolen contents and equipment are valued is often where the largest gap between insurer and policyholder appears. Two settlement bases are common. New-for-old (reinstatement) pays the cost of replacing an item with an equivalent new one. Indemnity pays the depreciated value, taking age and wear into account. Which one applies depends on your policy wording, and insurers will frequently default to the lower indemnity figure unless the claim is presented correctly.
Proof of ownership and value matters just as much as the basis. Receipts, invoices, bank and card statements, photographs, asset registers, warranty cards and supplier records all help establish what you owned and what it was worth. Where paperwork was destroyed or never kept, we know how to evidence ownership through other reliable means rather than letting an item drop off the claim. For wider stock and contents losses, our business contents and stock insurance claim service goes into the valuation approach in full detail.
- Right basis new-for-old versus indemnity, established correctly
- Proof of ownership receipts, statements, photos and asset registers
- Single-article limits checked so high-value items are not capped unfairly
- Replacement quotes obtained to support the full cost of like-for-like items
How It Works
From first call to full settlement
We manage your malicious damage and burglary claim end to end, so you can focus on getting the business trading again.
We attend your premises, review your policy and inspect the damage and missing items at no cost and no obligation.
We confirm the Garda report, gather photos, CCTV and proof of ownership, and prepare a fully costed loss schedule.
We submit the claim and deal directly with the insurer and their loss adjuster, presenting the case on your behalf.
We work toward the best possible settlement so you can repair, restock, restore security and get back to trading.
Building Damage & Closure
Forced entry, lost trading time and getting reopened
Intruders cause damage on the way in as well as once inside. Forced doors, broken glazing, bent roller shutters, cut alarm cabling and damaged frames all need professional repair before the premises are watertight and secure again. We cost this reinstatement properly, including emergency boarding-up and temporary security in the hours after the incident, which is itself recoverable.
If the break-in forces you to close while the premises are secured, repaired and restocked, the income you lose during that period can be claimed as business interruption, provided your policy includes it. This is one of the most under-claimed parts of any security incident, because owners focus on the visible damage and overlook the trade walking past a shuttered door. Our dedicated business interruption insurance claim service explains exactly how lost profit and increased costs of working are calculated and evidenced.
- Emergency works boarding-up and temporary security costed in
- Full reinstatement doors, glazing, shutters, locks and security systems
- Lost trade income claimed for every day you cannot open
- Single claim building, contents and interruption handled together
Whose Side Are You On
Levelling the playing field after a break-in
When you make a claim, the insurer appoints a loss adjuster to assess it. That adjuster is a professional doing their job, but the job is to manage the claim in the insurer’s interest. You are entitled to your own expert on the other side of the table. That is what a loss assessor does: we prepare, value and negotiate the claim entirely for you. Theft and malicious damage claims also stand or fall on evidence, so we make sure the incident is reported to An Garda Síochána, the PULSE reference is obtained, and photographs, CCTV and a full costed loss schedule are in place before the insurer can ask for them.
Malicious damage and burglary claims often overlap with wider property and contents cover, so it pays to have one firm seeing the whole picture. If your incident also affected the structure or fit-out of the building, our commercial property insurance claim service covers the building reinstatement side in depth. To understand the role itself and how we represent you throughout, read more about what a commercial loss assessor does. We are Central Bank of Ireland regulated, Reg. No: C423441, led by Trevor Kelly MSCSI MRICS, and we work on a no win, no fee basis.
- Your expert a chartered professional acting only for you
- Garda report incident and PULSE reference confirmed for the file
- Full picture building, contents and interruption in one claim
- Nationwide serving businesses across Ireland, with a focus on Dublin
across Ireland since 2009
Central Bank of Ireland regulated. RICS/SCSI accredited. No win, no fee.
Client Feedback
Trusted by business owners across Ireland
We were broken into over a weekend and lost most of our stock. They sorted the Garda reference, valued everything properly and dealt with the insurer for us. The settlement was far more than the first figure we were offered.
Vandals wrecked our shopfront and shutters and we had to close for nearly two weeks. They claimed the repairs and the lost trading time I had not even thought of. Calm, professional and completely on our side throughout.
Common Questions
Your questions, answered
We work on a no win, no fee basis. Our fee is a percentage of the settlement we recover for you, agreed with you in advance before any work begins. There is nothing to pay up front, and if there is no settlement, there is no fee.
Yes. Theft, burglary and malicious damage incidents should be reported to An Garda Síochána as soon as possible, and most policies require it. We help you obtain the PULSE reference and make sure it is on the file. If you have not reported it yet, we will guide you through what to do.
Make the premises safe and secure, report the incident to the Gardai, and photograph everything before anything is cleared or repaired. Keep receipts for any emergency boarding-up or temporary security. Then call us for a free site visit, ideally before you speak to the insurer, so the claim is presented correctly from the start.
We establish the correct settlement basis under your policy, whether new-for-old or indemnity, and evidence ownership and value using receipts, invoices, bank and card statements, photographs and asset registers. Where paperwork was destroyed or never kept, we know how to evidence ownership by other reliable means so items are not lost from the claim.
If the break-in forces you to close while the premises are secured, repaired and restocked, the income you lose during that period can usually be claimed as business interruption, provided your policy includes that cover. This is one of the most commonly missed parts of a security claim, and we make sure it is included where it applies.
Yes. We manage the claim from start to finish. We prepare and lodge it, then deal directly with the insurer and their loss adjuster on your behalf, presenting and negotiating the case so you can focus on getting the business trading again.
We are based in Rush, Co. Dublin and act for businesses across Ireland nationwide, with a particular focus on Dublin. Yes, we can review a claim that has already happened or where the insurer has made an offer. There is no obligation, and we will tell you honestly whether we can improve on it.
Broken into or vandalised?
Let us handle the claim
Talk to a chartered loss assessor today. We will review your policy, document the loss and deal with the insurer on your behalf. Free, no obligation. No win, no fee.
