You can protect yourself from car larceny by remembering to lock your car, take your keys with you, and park in well-lit areas. But if you find yourself the victim of car larceny, here ’ s how your indemnity supplier might help you — and what you should do to protect your finances .
Does Car Insurance Cover a Theft?
comprehensive car insurance helps pay to repair or replace your vehicle if damaged in a non-collision incidental. It besides helps pay to replace your fomite when thieves strike or replace stolen parts, such as wheels or electronic equipment. Besides covering losses caused by larceny, comprehensive policy besides covers losses caused by :
- Contact with animals such as hitting a deer on a dark country road.
- Fallen objects such as tree limbs.
- Fire
- Natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes.
- Riots
- Vandalism
What Type of Coverage Do I Need for Theft?
comprehensive coverage is the only type of car indemnity that covers vehicle larceny. Insurers treat an car larceny claim as if the fomite were totaled. comprehensive examination coverage pays the actual cash value of your fomite, minus the deductible. A car ’ s actual cash respect is its fair market respect, which is its depreciate value .
Pro Tip
If your car loanword balance exceeds your cable car ’ second respect, and your car is stolen, break policy will make up the difference. so, if the provider determines that your steal cable car has an actual cash rate of $ 8,000, and your policy has a $ 500 deductible, you ’ ll receive a maximum indemnity village of $ 7,500. Automobiles depreciate at an average rate of 49.1 % during the first five years, according to a study conducted by iSeeCars. Some SUVs and trucks, including the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and Toyota Tacoma, depreciate at a lower pace, while vehicles like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes Benz E-Class deprecate at a higher rate, adenine high as 72.6 % in five years. Based on car values provided by Kelley Blue Book, here are a few examples of settlements you might receive when filing a comprehensive examination policy claim for a stolen automobile .
| $500 Deductible | $1,000 Deductible | $1,500 Deductible | $2,000 Deductible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Ford Escape | $10,135 | $9,635 | $9,135 | $8,635 |
| 2020 Toyota Camry | $16,710 | $16,210 | $15,710 | $15,210 |
| 2021 Hyundai Kona | $15,396 | $14,896 | $14,396 | $13,896 |
If your new leased or financed vehicle is stolen, you may not receive a sufficient settlement to pay off the car loanword. That ’ s where gap policy saves the day. many insurers offer opening policy as an optional coverage. If the settlement for your steal car international relations and security network ’ t enough to pay off the cable car lend, gap policy steps in to cover the dispute. According to the Insurance Information Institute, most modern cars depreciate by 20 % in the first year, so gap indemnity is a valuable optional coverage when you buy a raw car. typically, leasing companies require col policy in the terms of the rent.
What to Do If Your Car Is Stolen
even if you carry comprehensive examination indemnity, you even need to take precautions to prevent thieves from stealing your wheels. “ The huge majority of car thefts occur after owners leave their keys in the vehicle, ” says Tim Lohmar, St. Charles County, Missouri ’ s prosecuting lawyer. “ The most common scenario is larceny taking place at the home of the car owner. ” And normally, “ vehicles are taken from a commodious store, quick shop, or natural gas place locations, in which the owner leaves the cable car unattended for a brief time period of time, ” according to Lohmar. If you ’ re the victim of car larceny, here ’ s what you should do :
- Immediately report the theft to the police. The police will need information about the vehicle, such as its license plate number, vehicle identification number (VIN), color, make, and model. Law enforcement may also ask about identifying marks on the car, like dents, customizations such as chrome wheels, and personal property inside. The police will also ask if you saw and could possibly identify the thief.
- Contact your insurer within 24 hours of the theft to file a claim. The police will give you a hard copy of their report, or a case number to reference, which you can give to your insurance company.
- If you find the car, contact the police and your insurance provider immediately. “Never take matters into your own hands. A stolen car is not worth serious injury or loss of life,” says Lohmar.
- Inform other people about your stolen automobile by posting on social media. Even if the car isn’t recovered, posting on social media can put your community on notice that a thief is lurking. “Social media sites such as Facebook and NextDoor have proven very valuable with near-real-time information sharing,” says Lohmar. “The more the public is knowledgeable and informed, the more steps they can take to avoid being victimized by auto theft.”
What Happens if My Stolen Car Is Recovered?
In some cases, authorities can recover stolen cars more well if they ’ re equipped with a GPS system. Some advance GPS systems feature tracking engineering, which enables law enforcement to pinpoint the localization of a steal vehicle. But if a thief makes off with your ride, chances are you ’ ll never recover it. “ We find that most car thieves, if successful, take the steal cars to chop shops in substitution for money, ” says Lohmar. “ Chop shops buy steal cars, disassemble them, and sell their individual parts for profit, typically within hours of the car being stolen. They are most much working as a separate of a larger criminal organization, ” says Lohmar. If your car is recovered, it may return damaged. comprehensive examination car indemnity covers damage to original and customs equipment caused by car thieves, but within limits. “ Some things that are not stock equipment require extra coverage, ” says Gary Paulson, owner of Mid-Columbia Insurance in Yakima, WA. “ Some companies will cover customizations to a limit, like $ 3,000. But if person has a $ 7,000 stereophonic in their cable car and it gets stolen, if you don ’ t have extra coverage to cover that stereo, it ’ s not going to be covered to replace it. ” If you get a settlement and the fomite is later recovered, it will belong to the indemnity party. But you may have the opportunity to buy it back from the mailman, Paulson says .
Is Comprehensive Coverage Worth it?
Purchasing comprehensive coverage can make thoroughly fiscal sense depending on your situation. car owners pay an average annual comprehensive insurance premium of around $ 134, according to the Insurance Information Institute. If your fomite international relations and security network ’ thymine financed or leased, consider its actual cash value before buying comprehensive examination coverage. “ If my comprehensive coverage costs $ 100 per year, and my car is still deserving $ 2,000, it makes sense to have it, ” says Paulson. It might not make sense when the car value reaches $ 1,000 or less, says Paulson .
How to Check Your Coverage and Make Sure You’re Covered
If you have comprehensive insurance on your car, you ’ ll be covered if it ’ randomness steal or damaged. early types of insurance, like indebtedness and collision indemnity, don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate cover a steal car. That ’ mho why it ’ south always a dear estimate to double-check your policy and make certain you have the right type of coverage, particularly if you ’ re more susceptible to car larceny in your area. You can do this by logging into your on-line portal vein with your insurance company and checking your policy declaration page, or by calling your insurance company and asking them to verify what ’ sulfur covered and what ’ s not under your car indemnity policy. If you own multiple vehicles, make certain you have the right sum coverage for every car.