Despite overall year-on-year rises, analysis from insurers reveals that the time of year and where you live in Switzerland can have a big impact on burglary rates.
In 2025, Switzerland’s largest non-life insurer, AXA, recorded a 4-percent increase in burglaries, paying out 9 percent more in claims compared to the previous year.
Compared with 2022, overall claims expenditure has risen by as much as 60 per cent.
Since 2020, AXA has recorded an increase in the number of burglaries per insured household year-on-year.
Experts, however, are unclear exactly why this is happening: “Our data does not show why burglaries have increased,” said Stefan Müller, Head of Property Insurance at AXA.
However, the report also shows that burglary rates fluctuate significantly depending on the region and the month.
It found that the risks are highest in Geneva during November and December.
Residents of Vaud, Basel-City and Basel-Country, as well as Jura, Solothurn, and Neuchâtel, were also targeted by thieves more frequently than the average.
In Central Switzerland and the southeast, by contrast, the risk of theft is far less.
The geographical differences are stark. Between 2019 and 2025, for example, the risk of being targeted by burglars in Geneva canton was more than twice as high as the Swiss average.
During this period, there were 8.4 burglaries per year per 1,000 households in Geneva.
At the other end of the spectrum, since 2019 AXA has recorded just one burglary per year per 1,000 households in both Uri and Graubünden, and 1.2 burglaries in Glarus.
The Swiss average stands at 3.3.
Season changes and shorter days also play a role, the report states.
Peak season for burglars from October to March, when AXA recorded 45 percent more burglaries than during the summer months.
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On the 24th and 31st of December, AXA recorded more than twice as many burglaries as on normal days. Burglaries are least common between April and June.
“During the festive season, when many people are on holiday or visiting relatives, burglars have an easier time of it,” said Müller.
Similarly, the value of every day items may also play a role.
AXA found that individual claims cost an average of over 7,000 Swiss francs – 30 percent more than three years ago.
The insurer’s own analysis states that several factors could explain the trend.
“Firstly, many people own increasingly expensive valuables such as smartphones, laptops or e-bikes. Secondly, due to higher prices, the same item is more expensive today than it used to be. And thirdly, we are seeing significantly more major claims,” Müller said.
