Expect A Boost In Theft And Vandalism Claims After Halloween

Halloween could be scarier for your budget than anticipated: Homeowners and auto insurance claims tend to jump during the holiday. On average, Halloween has 17 percent more home claims for theft, vandalism and other crimes than any other day of the year, according to a new assessment from Travelers. That includes problems like doors kicked in, mailboxes knocked down and rocks thrown through windows, said Angi Orbann, vice president of personal insurance property for Travelers. In some cases, damage can run into thousands of dollars.

Data from the Highway Loss Data Institute found a similar boost among auto insurance claims over the 2008 to 2012 period, citing Halloween as the day of the year with the highest average number of auto insurance claims for vandalism — almost twice as many as the typical day. (A spokesman said that trend still holds.)

Spookier: Damage bills may be even more prevalent than those numbers imply. Homeowner policies, for example, often have a deductible of $500 to $1,000 before coverage kicks in. So acts of theft or vandalism that fall shy of that threshold (meaning you shoulder that expense and don’t file a claim) aren’t included in the numbers, said Orbann.