North Finchley is the third worst area in the country for burglary, according to a new survey.

The N12 postcode, specifically the Woodside Park area, was among a list of areas where homeowners are most likely to claim on their home insurance for theft or burglary.

Parts of Leeds and Bradford topped the chart but North Finchley came in third – a huge increase on last year’s survey when it was placed 402nd.

The figures, compiled by comparison site MoneySupermarket, compared the number of claims per insurance enquiries among the 3.5 million quotes run on its website between December 2011 and November 2012.

The data also showed that people living in the worst-hit areas are likely to pay more for their home insurance.

Home insurance expert Hannah Jones said: “Areas affected by higher rates of burglary insurance claims will see their premiums impacted – increasing by a fifth on average.

“Higher value properties could expect to pay even more than this. Insurers take a blanket approach to assessing postcode districts for home insurance premiums rather than looking at insurance applications on a case-by-case basis.

“While there are clearly some areas of the country with a higher proportion of insurance claims for burglary than others, this doesn’t actually mean the area is ‘rife’ with crime.

“Thieves often specifically target areas with wealthy residents, or quieter areas where there’s not a lot of passing foot traffic, where the rewards are potentially greater and the risk of being caught in the act may be less.”