How to prevent a business burglary: your safety checklist
Omaha, Nebraska, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — One of the many challenges owners face in running a successful company is the chance that somebody will enter their property illegally and steal from them. Unfortunately, in business, burglary is an ever-present risk.
But there’s good news: You can take action to protect your business from burglary and lower your risk of being targeted by criminals.
This article provides proven strategies for securing your property to prevent illegal access. It also has essential information on what are called “protective safeguard endorsements,” which are features of a business insurance policy related to defined steps for avoiding losses—in this case, preventing crime.
Let’s dive into the critical topic of business burglary and how to prevent it!
What is business burglary?
A good place to start is to explain what this crime is specifically. Burglary is defined as entering a property illegally with intent to commit theft. From a legal perspective, it’s different from similar actions like robbery (theft through force or the threat of force), but the burglary of a business has the same result—the loss of valuable assets.
For example, a store burglary might involve criminals breaking in overnight and stealing inventory. At a service business, burglary could be the theft of valuable equipment or tools.
9 things you can do to protect your business from burglary
Knowing how to prevent a burglary lowers your risk of being victimized. Below are some steps you can (and should) take to keep your assets safe:
- Protect your property with an alarm system. Alarm systems help in a couple of ways. First, they notify you and the authorities if someone is breaking into your property. That’s critical. They also can prevent crime by showing the bad guys casing your business that you’ve taken action to protect your property. Burglars tend to prefer the path of least resistance and might skip your business to focus on others that aren’t as well protected.
- Ensure the perimeter of your building is well-lit. For obvious reasons, criminals prefer to operate out of view, so areas with little or no overnight lighting are appealing to them. Be sure to keep the exterior of your property illuminated. Ideally, lighting fixtures should be shielded from damage so burglars can’t easily break them.
- Install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Video surveillance tends to discourage thieves. It’s crucial that you position cameras outside and inside your property where they can capture people’s faces. It’s also essential to store the footage at a secure offsite location.
- Maximize visibility around your business. Take a walk around your property and look for any areas where a thief could be sheltered from view while they work to get inside. For example, tall bushes, dumpsters, vehicles, and other obstacles near a building can provide cover for a criminal, so you should remove or relocate them.
- Ensure doors and windows are secure. Features like solid-core doors, heavy-duty locks, and safety glass can make it more difficult for someone to access your property illegally. If your building has garage doors, be sure they’re also locked outside of business hours.
- Do employee background checks. Even the best security is ineffective against an “inside job” where an employee intentionally leaves a door or window unlocked or provides someone with a key. Be sure to hire people who’ve shown they can be trusted.
- Closely control keys. Carefully manage who has keys to your store, office, warehouse, or other facility, and be sure to get them back when people leave your company. For better security, use an access control system that lets you revoke access immediately as needed and records the date, time, and keyholder whenever someone unlocks a door.
- Provide added protection for valuable items. Consider using safes, equipment cages, locked storage rooms, and other theft deterrents inside your building as added layers of protection.
- Create a security culture at your business. Train your employees on the importance of safety practices, such as checking every access point at the close of business each day. Also, emphasize that you have security measures in place and will contact authorities to investigate any burglaries.
A note about protective safeguard endorsements
Shielding a company from the effects of a business burglary really has two parts. For starters, it’s crucial to do all you can to secure your business. The least damaging crime is the one that never happens!
The second part is having insurance to reimburse your business for the losses you suffer in a burglary. Policies often have protective safeguard endorsements. These provisions require you to take defined actions to secure your property. (For example, installing an alarm system, cameras, etc.)
Typically, a protective safeguard device has to be operational at the time of a loss for coverage to apply. But generally speaking, if you’ve told your insurance company you have an operational protective safeguard device they’ll give you a premium credit and, as a result, require you to keep it active.
And, of course, you’ll want to do that anyway. No business owner wants to lose valuable assets or spend time dealing with the aftermath of a break-in.
Learn about business burglary protection from biBerk.
You arrive at your business in the morning and discover that someone has broken in and stolen thousands of dollars in inventory, equipment, or other assets. That’s a bad way to start your day!
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to eliminate the risk of a business burglary completely. But you can take steps to reduce the likelihood of an incident and protect your business financially if a theft occurs.
How does insurance from biBerk do that? You can find information about the standard theft coverage we provide (like in our business owners policy) on our website. You can also contact our friendly licensed insurance experts for answers to any questions you have. They’re happy to talk with you about what’s covered and how protective safeguard endorsements work.
Don’t wait to defend your property and secure your company’s financial future. Take action today and sleep better tonight, knowing you have biBerk on your side.
About biBerk Business Insurance
biBerk can help you with all your small business insurance needs, including: commercial auto, general liability, property and liability, umbrella, and workers’ compensation. https://www.biberk.com
Media Contact:
Rakesh Gupta | 402-408-2870
