Insurance Coverage For Christmas Gifts Stolen From Your Vehicle

Insurance Blog

Although auto insurance usually does not cover personal items, including holiday gifts that you have purchased that are stolen from your vehicle, your homeowners insurance may reimburse some of the loss. Generally, a home insurance policy that includes personal property insurance covers personal belongings against theft–whether the items are stolen from inside or away your home.

Scenario: After purchasing a stack of holiday gifts for friends and family, you lock your stash in your vehicle for safe keeping while you go back to working your way down your gift list with free hands. But a thief on the prowl for someone just like you spots you loading the gifts into your SUV. The thief patiently waits for you to go on your merry way again and then commits the dastardly deed. After you finish shopping and return to your vehicle, you are horrified to find that your previous load of gifts is gone–a discovery that puts a huge dent in both your pocketbook and your holiday cheer.

What should you do?

The first thing you should do when you find that the items have been stolen from your vehicle is to immediately file a police report. Report the theft to the local police in the police service area where the theft occurred.

After you do that, it is time to contact your home insurance company to make a claim–if that is what you decide to do. Reporting the loss to your auto insurer will not help since auto policies normally only pay for the loss of an item, such as a factory-installed GPS (global positioning system) or stereo, that is permanently attached to your vehicle.

What to expect when you file a claim?

If your policy calls for a deductible, you will have to pay the deductible amount before the insurer will pay the claim. You will also be required to provide the insurance company with the receipts for the gifts as proof of ownership. If the receipts were in the bags with the items you purchased and they are gone too, go back to the stores where you made the purchases and ask them to print duplicate receipts. Your insurer may also accept credit card or debit card statements that show you made the purchases.

Before you file a claim, however, check your policy for any exclusions or limitations on coverage as policies vary on the amount of coverage they offer. Many home insurance companies limit the amount of coverage for items that are damaged, destroyed, or stolen off the premises of your home to 10 percent of the amount of your personal property coverage. Therefore, it is important to know the amount of personal property coverage you carry and the total value of the gifts that were stolen when weighing whether or not to file a claim. For more information, contact a home insurance company like Hamsher Insurance.

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23 November 2016

Understanding Insurance Policies

When I got married, I knew that there were a few things that I needed to learn about the way the world worked. For starters, I had to figure out how insurance worked since I wanted to make the most of my life without worrying about money. I started focusing on the policies that I had in place and gradually moved towards acquiring new life insurance and the like. Having each of these coverages helped give both me and my spouse peace of mind. We both knew if something happened to me that the other would be okay. Check out this blog to learn more about insurance needs.