I got a phone call at about 4pm last week, it was a friend who said he had been burgled during the afternoon and would I go across and help as his wife wanted to keep the children away. When I got there I couldnt believe the mess, the burglars only had one thing on their mind, what to take and how to get out of there in the quickest time. The drawers had been emptied on the floor, clothes had been pulled out of the wardrobes and glass cabinets had been broken for the contents inside even though the key was in the cabinet locks.

His wife had come home and found photos of their children spread across the garden, a side window smashed and even the garden ornaments broken in the haste to get away. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw and she had only been out of the house 30 minutes to pick the children up from school.

I called the police to report the event as in the commotion my friend had forgot to do this and already had started to move possessions and put them away. I felt we should leave things as they were for know, until the police came and did their bit and told us we could start tidying up. It was during this wait for the police that my friend opened up and explained that this year they had not renewed their home contents insurance. Suddenly an upsetting event pretty much became a tragedy. It had taken them years to build up what they had and now with only one wage coming in, it was unlikely to be back to normal within a short period of time.

I asked, why did you not renew you home contents policy, his reply was we couldnt afford to. I wanted to say that they couldnt really afford not to, but the timing did not seem right.

The police came and went and we both new it was unlikely that anything could be done about it as no one had seen anything. Fingerprints were looked for and eventually we were allowed to start clearing up the mess including fixing the broken window. A few days later he told me that the hardest thing, was telling his children their why their favourite toys had been stolen and his wife picking up the family photos from the garden.

Even though they couldnt afford it, their insurance was renewed the next day and even though I new we were OK, I still checked anyway. Having someone rummage through your home, take your belongings and disturb your private castle is something that once you have been through will change your daily routines and priorities. But what must be worse is not being able to at least recover from the financial strain.

I have been fortunate enough not to have been through this trauma, but I have learnt from their mistake and without exception will be renewing my home and contents insurance on time every time.