A break-in rattles you for a week. The sequence of decisions in the first 24 hours afterward matters more than you think — both for your safety and for how the insurance claim plays out. This is the checklist we walk customers through when they call us at 3am after coming home to a damaged door.

Hour 1: Call 911, do not enter the property

If you arrive home and see signs of a break-in — broken window, forced door, lights on when you left them off — do not go inside. Even if you think the burglars are gone, you don’t know that. Wait outside in a safe location or in your car and call 911.

San Diego Police Department and Sheriff’s Department will dispatch officers to clear the property and take a report. They’ll walk through with you when it’s safe, document what’s missing, and give you a case number. That case number is required for almost every insurance claim. Do not skip this step even if the break-in feels “minor” or “nothing was taken” — without the police report, your insurer can reject the claim entirely.

Hour 2-4: Document everything

Before you touch anything inside, photograph every room. Get shots of:

  • The point of entry (broken window, damaged door, jimmied lock)
  • Every room in the state you found it (drawers pulled out, closets tossed, etc.)
  • Any damage to walls, furniture, or flooring
  • The contents of drawers and cabinets that were rifled through

Use your phone. Dates and times are automatically embedded in the EXIF data. This documentation is critical for insurance — most claims get disputed over what was and wasn’t present. Photos from the hours after the event are gold-standard evidence.

Then start a written inventory:

  • Electronics (laptops, TVs, gaming systems) with make, model, and serial numbers if you have them
  • Jewelry with descriptions and approximate values
  • Cash or cash-equivalents (gift cards, foreign currency)
  • Firearms (these require their own report if missing)
  • Irreplaceable documents (passports, social security cards, birth certificates)

If you keep records of your possessions — appraisals, receipts, registration cards for electronics — pull them out of your files now. Every one makes the claim process faster.

Hour 4-12: Secure the property tonight

Now comes the locksmith call. Your first priority after the police clear the scene is to make the property secure enough to leave it overnight. We run emergency dispatches specifically for this — typically within 30-45 minutes of the call.

What a post-break-in locksmith visit covers:

  1. Rekey or replace any compromised locks. If the burglars used a key (either stolen from a hidden location or taken from a previous break-in), rekey all exterior locks. If they forced entry and damaged the lock, replace that lock and rekey the others.
  2. Repair or reinforce the door frame. A kicked-in door often splinters the frame around the strike plate. Temporary fix: reinforce with 3-inch screws and an over-sized strike plate. Permanent fix: replace the damaged section of frame, usually a next-day job.
  3. Board up or secure broken windows. Most locksmiths partner with a glazier or carry temporary window-board material on the truck. Otherwise you’ll need a separate glazier for the permanent glass repair.
  4. Install reinforced strike plates on intact doors. If they didn’t use the front door this time, they might try it next. Upgrading all exterior strike plates to 3-inch screws is a $20-40 per-door upgrade during the rekey call — do it now while the locksmith is already there.

The goal tonight is sleepable security — well enough secured that you can lock up and go to bed without worrying. Full cosmetic repairs happen over the next week.

Hour 12-24: File the insurance claim

With the police report in hand and the photographs / inventory ready, call your homeowners or renters insurance. Every insurer has a specific claims line — don’t use the general customer service number.

When you call, they’ll assign a claim number and schedule an adjuster visit (usually within 1-3 days). The adjuster will walk through the property and document what you’ve already documented. Your photos and inventory make this meeting take 30 minutes instead of 3 hours.

What’s covered (usually):

  • Damage to the property from the break-in (doors, windows, frames)
  • Stolen property, up to your policy limits (but some categories — jewelry, cash, collectibles — have sub-limits)
  • Additional living expenses if the property is uninhabitable and you need a hotel

What’s not covered (usually):

  • Emotional distress or “time lost from work”
  • Missing cash beyond a small sub-limit (often $200-500)
  • Items whose value you can’t document (that appraisal you meant to get)

The locksmith bill, interestingly, is often covered by homeowners policies as part of the emergency response to secure the property. Save the receipt — your insurer may reimburse all or part of it.

Days 2-7: The follow-up work

After the immediate crisis is handled, the longer-term work:

Get the permanent repairs done

Door frame repair, window glass replacement, any wall or molding damage — these get scheduled once you have the insurance claim number and the go-ahead from the adjuster. Most adjusters approve emergency repairs done in the first 24 hours without requiring pre-approval, but anything structural (replacing a section of wall, reframing a window) needs their sign-off.

Review your home security

A break-in teaches you what’s weak. Common weak points we see in San Diego:

  • Side gates and back fences — often overlooked but are the main entry route for most break-ins
  • Sliding glass doors — the factory latches are trivially bypassed; a metal rod in the track plus an auxiliary lock adds real security
  • Dog doors — sized for a medium dog is also sized for a person; consider a dog door with an electronic collar sensor
  • First-floor windows — cheap to break, often left unlocked; invest in window pins or alarm sensors

Consider upgrading to restricted-keyway locks

If the burglars may have duplicated your key (from a hidden spare, a stolen key, or an unknown prior copy), restricted-keyway locks (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock) prevent future unauthorized duplication. No hardware store or kiosk can legally duplicate a restricted key — only the authorized locksmith on file. Adds $200-400 per cylinder above standard hardware, but provides audit-level key control.

Add smart cameras and alarms

If you didn’t have them, now is when to add cameras and / or an alarm system. A visible camera at the front door and at the back of the property is the single biggest deterrent for opportunistic break-ins. Brands like Ring, Nest, and Eufy cover most residential needs for $150-400 per camera.

What not to do

A few things that commonly make the situation worse:

  • Don’t clean up before the police arrive. It destroys evidence and photographs you’ll need later.
  • Don’t post about it on social media right away. Burglars sometimes return to property where the owners are clearly out or occupied elsewhere. Wait a day or two.
  • Don’t trust any “we were in the area and saw the damage” security pitch. Scammers target break-in victims specifically. Vet any service call (especially a locksmith) through their BSIS license before hiring.
  • Don’t skip the rekey because “the lock still works.” If they had a key or could have copied one, the mechanical lock isn’t the problem — key control is. Rekey.

Need an emergency rekey or door repair after a break-in in San Diego? Swift Key San Diego runs 24/7 dispatch for post-break-in security. We rekey, repair damaged hardware, install reinforced strike plates, and can coordinate with your insurance on the receipt. Call (858) 808-6055 — typical arrival 20-40 minutes anywhere in San Diego County.