Theft and vandalism claims are among the most heavily scrutinized residential property claims a carrier handles. The documentation you can provide is what separates a straightforward claim from a drawn-out one.
The SIU process is a routine part of how carriers handle this claim type, and it does not mean your claim will be denied. What it does mean is that the factual record you can produce — the police report, the documentation of what was taken, the evidence of forced entry — carries more weight here than in most other claim categories.
The documentation process on a theft or vandalism claim has more in common with a fact-finding investigation than a standard property inspection. Depending on the circumstances, we may document signs of forced entry, conduct interviews with neighbors, and review available security camera footage from the property or nearby homes. We build a factual record of how the loss occurred.
We also handle theft and vandalism claims on landlord-owned residential properties, including rental units and properties actively being prepared for tenancy — where vacancy and documentation issues add complexity.
When a carrier adjusts a theft or vandalism claim, the structural component and the contents component are evaluated separately. The structural portion — broken doors, forced windows, damaged locks, entry point repair — is typically straightforward. The contents claim is where the gap between policyholders and carriers most often develops.
Damage to doors, door frames, locks, windows, and any structural element forced during a break-in is covered under dwelling coverage (Coverage A) as vandalism. This portion is typically estimated by the carrier’s adjuster and is relatively straightforward to document.
In a vandalism-only loss where no forced entry occurred — exterior damage, intentional destruction of property — the same Coverage A provisions apply. The scope should include all surfaces and components that were intentionally damaged, not only the most visible items.
Contents losses are covered under Coverage C — personal property. The burden of documenting what was taken and its value falls on the policyholder, not the carrier. A contents inventory has to be produced — from whatever documentation exists — and incomplete inventories are the most common reason theft claims are underpaid.
How contents are valued depends on your specific policy. Review your declarations page to understand whether your Coverage C is written on an actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost value (RCV) basis. Many policyholders are uncertain which they have, and the difference affects the settlement meaningfully.
Most homeowners policies cap coverage on specific property categories regardless of the overall Coverage C limit. A policy with $100,000 in personal property coverage may have a $2,500 sub-limit on jewelry. Items in capped categories require a scheduled personal property endorsement to be fully covered. Common sub-limited categories include jewelry, watches, firearms, fine art, collectibles, and furs.
Claims on landlord-owned properties can be denied if the property was left vacant and unchecked for a period the policy defines as vacancy. For owners with a property between tenants or under active renovation, this exposure is real. The defense is documentation: records of workers on site, utility usage, contractor or neighbor attestation — evidence that the property was never functionally vacant for a qualifying period.
If an insured cannot establish that an item existed and cannot establish its value, the carrier has no obligation to pay for it. This is a solvable problem in most cases, but it requires effort. We work through the inventory reconstruction process with policyholders — the goal is a documented, defensible claim file, not a list assembled from memory under pressure.
Depreciation on contents works differently from depreciation on a dwelling. When a home is repaired, most of the affected materials are similar in age. A contents claim involves items of every age, and every item depreciates differently. An older television, a piece of furniture, a tool — each one is discounted from its replacement cost based on age and condition.
If your contents are covered on an ACV basis, you will receive depreciated value — not what it would cost to replace the items today. In our experience, many policyholders are uncertain which basis their policy uses, and a significant share are surprised to find they do not have the RCV endorsement.
This affects how we build the claim file. Understanding your coverage basis before the adjuster visit shapes how the contents inventory is structured and what recovery is realistic.
These are the property categories most commonly subject to per-occurrence sub-limits in Texas homeowners policies. The cap applies regardless of your total Coverage C limit unless a scheduled endorsement is in place.
The initial claim review is at no charge. We will assess the structural and contents components, review your coverage basis, and advise on what documentation is needed to support the full claim under scrutiny.