You have auto insurance to protect your car, and home
insurance to protect your home and its contents – but what about the contents
of your car? Few people realize that auto insurance only covers their vehicle –
not the contents of the vehicle. The time to start thinking about the personal
property in your car isn’t after your vehicle has been stolen or burglarized,
it’s now. For example, consider what you leave in your vehicle regularly – electronic
equipment, GPS, laptop, sporting equipment, etc. If you want to be protected in
the event your car is stolen or burglarized, you should augment your car
insurance with a small property insurance policy.
Facts about Auto Theft & Personal Property
In Canada, on average, a vehicle is stolen every three
minutes, and the theft of the personal items left within a vehicle ranks as the
third most popular property crime (Statistics Canada, 2005). Regardless of your
vehicle’s anti-theft devices, there is never any guarantee that the contents in
your automobile are safe. With that in mind, be aware that should your car get
stolen or broken into it is highly unlikely that any of your personal property
will be recovered – even if your vehicle is found.
Whether you have an iPod, laptop, sports equipment, or other
items of value that you regularly carry in your car, your automotive insurance
policies won’t protect them. Property insurance, on the other hand, covers the
contents of your vehicle, even if it’s only temporarily in the vehicle, like
your grocery shopping or gifts. So in the case where your car is stolen or
broken into, you will need to have both insurance policies to be entirely
protected against loss.
How Automobile Property Insurance Works
Generally, automobile property insurance is an extension of
your homeowner’s or tenant’s insurance. Policies usually include coverage for
10% of your personal property coverage or $1,500, whichever is greater. But you
don’t have to have homeowner’s or tenant’s insurance to be able to protect your
personal belongings in your vehicle. Sign up for a property insurance policy to
protect your belongings – wherever they are.
Since property insurance is separate from your car insurance
policies, if your car is stolen you will be required to file two claims: one
for the car (or the damage to it), and one for the personal property that was
in it. Remember, two separate claims to will leave two ‘marks’ on your
insurance record, and you will have to pay two separate deductibles to claim
for both losses. The exception is that if you have both your home and
automobile policies with the same insurance provider, you will only pay the
higher of the two deductibles when filing your claim.
Take Precautions
You should always, ALWAYS, lock your vehicle – no matter
where it is parked. Some Canadian car insurance policies will not pay for lost
personal belongings if there is no physical evidence of a theft – such as a
smashed window or tampered lock. Even if you park your vehicle at home in a
locked garage, you should still take the extra precaution of locking it and
turning on its anti-theft device. Thieves will take almost any opportunity to
steal something, so make sure you make their job as difficult as possible while
protecting yourself from a claim being rejected.
Keeping records of the items you carry in your vehicle makes
the claims process go smoothly should you need to file a claim. Receipts and
pictures are a good idea; just don’t keep the records in your car! For
important or expensive items that you will be leaving in your car regularly it
is a good idea to engrave them with your driver’s license number so that if the
item is recovered or found it can be returned to you.
Article Credit: www.insurancehotline.com
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