People working from home during Covid-19 lockdowns in Germany are inadvertently thwarting burglaries.
Break-ins fell to an all-time low as tenants and homeowners who stayed away from the office became unwitting security guards during the pandemic.
The German Insurance Association (GDV) saw claims for break-ins drop to 85,000 in 2020 - 10,000 fewer than the previous year and the lowest since the GDV began recording figures in 1998.
“The fall in break-ins is largely due to people spending so much time at home thanks to the coronavirus pandemic,” GDV head Joerg Asmussen said.
“Burglars often had no opportunity to carry out the deed.”
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As a result, damages fell to €230m ($269.68 m), €70m euros less than the year before, while the average size of an individual claim fell by 10 per cent to €2,750 euros, the association said.
And it appears break-in figures could remain at lower levels going into the near future.
Germany is among a number of EU countries facing a third wave of Covid as the EU struggles with its vaccine programme.
Amid a surge in new infections, chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month announced a national lockdown over the Easter period, only to reverse the decision days later before apologising.
The U-turn came as Belgium reintroduced tighter lockdown measures.
And yesterday President Emmanuel Macron plunged France into its third nation-wide shutdown.
Although Germany avoided a fresh lockdown the advice there remains that people should work from home where possible.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
