Ripped Off!

Ripped Off!

What to Do When Your Car’s Been Broken Into, and How Your Auto and Homeowners Insurance Can Help You Put the Pieces Back Together

It was just another morning. You woke up, rolled into the shower, crawled pitifully to the coffee pot for your morning shot of Joe and, feeling halfway human, walked out your front door…only to find out that your car windows were smashed and your $3,000 car stereo system, cell phone and GPS system moved on to greener

A burglar can do a lot of damage to your paint job trying to get into your car.

pastures. You might be standing there feeling like someone put an unpleasant twist on the saying, “while you were sleeping,” (or you might be furiously plotting your evil revenge) but relax. Having your car broken into and your electronics (and anything else that can be hawked on the black market) ripped off isn’t the most pleasant way to start your morning, but chances are your auto and homeowners insurance policies have you covered.

Unless you’re the type of person who spends more time washing, waxing and polishing their car than they do cleaning their house (and don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that) your first priority is likely to be the thousands of dollars in electronics that have suddenly gone missing. Hey, it probably took you months to save up for those speakers! And a good GPS system can’t be found on every corner. Our economy isn’t exactly booming these days, and a loss that big can leave you feeling like you were standing on a bridge over the Grand Canyon and someone suddenly cut the ropes.

Statistics show that people who live on the west coast are more likely than anyone else in the U.S. to have their cars stolen or broken into.

This is a tricky situation, because although your comprehensive auto insurance policy will cover anything stolen that was permanently attached to your car, it’s not going to touch your cell phone-and your GPS and car stereo are debatable. If they’re the kind you can just reach in, loosen a few screws and lift out your auto insurance company isn’t going to touch the theft with a ten foot pole. The good news is, your car is considered to be your personal property (if you’re a commuter you probably spend more time there than you do at home) and the contents of your car will probably be covered under your homeowners or renters insurance.

The damage to your windows, door locks, windshields and anything else their crowbar-happy hands decided to play with is another story. This is where the hundreds of dollars you pay for your auto insurance policy every year is going to be worth its weight in gold. Your comprehensive coverage will pay for the bang-up job of creative redecorating the thieves did to your car, sticking you with a deductible rather than thousands of dollars in repair bills and helping you get your trusty, faithful car back on the road before you’re too old to remember how to drive!

There’s an undeniable sense of violation and helplessness that comes when you find out someone has been using your car for their own personal playground, but between your auto insurance and your homeowners policy you can rest easy knowing they didn’t just clean out your bank account too.

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Sunday, May 16th, 2010 Insurance Auto

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