Columbia Police dispatched to 13 burglary calls over holiday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department was dispatched to 13 possible burglaries from Dec. 20 through Dec. 30.

Police also responded to one possible robbery call.

City of Columbia spokesman Steve Sapp said the actual numbers could be different because dispatch enters the call type that best matches what the caller is conveying to them. Sapp said the call type and actual incident can be different. 

Several insurance agencies told ABC17 News they do see an increase in inquiries about thefts from porches, cars and homes during this time of year.

Owner of Mulligan Insurance in Columbia Lance Hall said it might not always be wise to file an insurance claim.

"What's really going to cost you in the long run?" Hall said. "More times than not, if you submit a claim you'll then have three to five years of a rate increase, and then if you have another claim, more times than not the insurance carrier could look at the frequency and cancel you."

Hall said the first thing policyholders should do after an incident is file a police report.

"You should always file a police report, no matter if it's something small," Hall said. "Because then you can talk to your insurance agent and you can decide if it does make sense or not."

He said each circumstance is different but would recommend only filing a claim if the item's worth is well over the deductible.

"If it's a $1,000 deductible, and it's three or four times that, you probably want to look at that," Hall said. " If it's someone who has stolen something off of your porch, even if it's a $500 dollar item, it's probably not going to be worth it."

Several insurance agents also expressed that this time of year is big for car thefts, as sometimes people leave gifts out in plain sight.

Hall also explained that if a car is broken into, only the car itself and anything attached to it falls under car insurance. Personal property taken from vehicles falls into home or renters insurance.