What to Do If Your Vehicle is Stolen

 

Tips and Advice

This is the worst. You go outside to get in your car – and it is not there! Your car was stolen – this article is about what to do if your vehicle is stolen. Make sure you carry Part 9 Comprehensive to cover a stolen vehicle, call us today to get your Commerce Auto Insurance Quote.

First off, when it comes to auto insurance coverage, check your policy – you need to have Part 9 Comprehensive coverage, which protects against non-crash damage to your car, like theft. Unfortunately, you’re out of luck if your car is stolen and you don’t have comprehensive coverage – so know what your car insurance covers before something happens.

More than 3 out of every 4 drivers purchase Comprehensive coverage. That means more than 75 percent of drivers insure their cars against theft, in addition to the required liability coverage.

Comprehensive coverage can also apply to damage to a vehicle after it’s recovered.

Protecting your car against theft is even more important if it’s a newer model. A car that is popular with thieves when new will still be a target for theft for around 6 years because:
• The parts of a car model become more valuable over time if the model doesn’t undergo a significant redesign.
• It takes thieves about three years to fully solve an automaker’s theft deterrent systems.
• Owners of older cars are less likely to buy an aftermarket anti-theft device and/or lock the vehicle.

You’ll be dealing with two groups if you find your car stolen: the police and your car insurance company.

Filing a Police Report

Police will likely ask you to provide these details about your stolen car for their report:
1. Year, make, model, and color of the car
2. Your best time estimate for when the car was stolen
3. Descriptions of anyone you might’ve been seen around your car around the time it was stolen
4. Names of any witnesses

Contacting Your Insurer to Start the Claims Process

Hopefully, you have comprehensive coverage, if so you should contact your agent immediately after your car is stolen. You’ll likely be in contact with your coverage provider several times during the process of filing the police report and car insurance claim.

You’ll be working with a claims adjuster throughout the process who determines the value of your car should your insurer payout on the claim (minus your deductible.

Have a pen and piece of paper and write down the name of the person who is handling your claim and have the following information handy:
1. Your Policy number
2. Your best time estimate for when the car was stolen
3. Year, make, model, and color of the car
4. Your car’s license plate
5. The police report number and department where the report was filed

Most car insurers require a waiting period of 48 hours before paying out on claims for stolen cars and/or a rental vehicle. This period allows police time to do their work to recover the stolen vehicle.

If a vehicle is recovered after a claim is paid out, you’ll have to discuss with your insurer the terms for getting it back. That’s because it’s the car insurance company that gets the vehicle title after paying out on such claims. In essence, they own the vehicle after paying the claim.

If you, unfortunately, go through this it is important to know what to do if your vehicle is stolen.

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