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Safety · Germany
Updated September 2026

🏚️ My home was broken into — what do I do first, and who do I contact?

Direct answer

Do not touch anything until the police have been — fingerprints and traces matter. Report to Polizei — Onlinewache (polizei.de) immediately; they come to the scene for a burglary, and the report number is the key to the insurance claim. Then call Versicherungsombudsmann (0800 3696000) — your contents insurer — within their deadline (often 24–72 hours), with a first list of what is missing. Cards, phones, documents stolen? Block them the same hour (see the card and device pages). WEISSER RING (116 006) helps with the shock and the practical side; a burglary is not "just property".

Call firstPolizei — Onlinewache
Report toVersicherungsombudsmann
If that failsWEISSER RING

🗣️ What to say

"My home at [address] was broken into between [time] and [time] on [date]. Entry through [door/window]. Missing so far: [items]. I have not touched anything. Please send someone and give me the case number for my insurer."

🪜 Step by step

  1. Out, then policeIf you think someone is still inside, leave and call from outside. Otherwise call from the door without walking through.
  2. Do not tidyPhotograph everything as it is, before the police and before you touch it.
  3. List what is missingStart now, keep adding for days. Serial numbers, photos, receipts, the app history of devices.
  4. Insurer within the deadlineReport, then send the list and the police number. Emergency repairs to the door are usually covered — keep invoices.
  5. Block and changeCards, phone, keys (change the locks if keys were taken), passwords on any device stolen.

📇 All contacts

Polizei — OnlinewacheOnline report, reference number immediatelyAlways — the basis for bank, insurer and platform🔗 www.polizei.de/Polizei/DE/Einrichtungen/Onlinewache/onlinewache_node.html
VersicherungsombudsmannFree dispute resolution with insurers, binding up to €10,000After the insurer's refusal📞 0800 3696000🔗 www.versicherungsombudsmann.de
WEISSER RINGVictim support: advice, accompaniment, compensationAfter any crime📞 116 006🔗 weisser-ring.de
Ordnungsamt / Bürgeramt der StadtPublic-order office: nuisances, noise, waste, registration, lost propertyFor anything the city regulates📞 115🔗 www.behoerdenfinder.de

❓ Frequently asked

The police will not come

For a burglary they should; insist, or file online and ask for a scene visit. Without a report there is no insurance claim.

No insurance — what now?

Victim compensation funds cover violent crime rather than property in most countries, but WEISSER RING knows the exceptions and emergency help.

I am a tenant — who pays the door?

The landlord repairs the building (door, window); your contents insurance covers your things. Tell the landlord the same day in writing.

📎 Sources

Last checked: 2026-09-26

🔎 Common searches

Recognise your own search? The answer above covers all of these.

  • “burglary what to do first Germany”
  • “report break in police Germany”
  • “burglary insurance claim deadline”
  • “home broken into tenant landlord door”
  • “victim support burglary”

🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

🔗 Related questions

📱Device stolen→💳Card lost or stolen→🆔Identity theft→💻Online harassment→

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