Everything You Need to Do if Your Car is Stolen
What happens if your car gets stolen?
Every person who bought the car with their hard-earned money is like a family member. Moreover, whether it’s about going on a weekend trip, or commuting daily, things get easy when you own a car.
Things can go worse if your car is robbed by cunning theft. Besides, nobody knows when such time can arrive and take away all your happiness. There are certain things you must know and follow.
What to do when the car is stolen? Stop worrying and continue to read this amazing blog guide to know about the best practices.
If you come to know that your car has been robbed, firstly do not panic and keep yourself in control. In addition, if you forgot where you parked the car or did not get to see the car where it was parked then chances are higher that it got towed.
Visit the local police department to know whether your car has been towed or not.
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What to Do if Your Car Is Stolen?
Visit the local police station:
Do not waste time and visit the police station, and report for theft. As per the latest survey, around 30% of cars were recovered within the same day of theft when reported at the earliest, while 40% were recovered within the next two days.
- Make, model, and type of your car
- VIN details
- License Plate Number Details
- Any cosmetic changes making your vehicle stand apart
- Details about GPS if the car has one
- The exact time the car stolen
Calling the insurance company:
Once done with the police station the next step you have to take is calling the insurance firm. Moreover, you must have the report in your hands as few companies won’t act until they do not get to see the official stolen report.
You can claim the benefit if you have a comprehensive insurance policy covering the loss by theft condition. If you do not have such insurance then you cannot avail any benefit.
Get in touch with home insurance providers:
We do not live in a perfect world and there can be chances that you have left precious and expensive belongings in the car itself. If your laptop, mobile phone, or any other commodity was in there then you must get in touch with the home insurance provider.
Auto insurance firms do not offer coverage for personal items. Therefore, to cover the losses you must get in touch with home insurance providers.
Visit the financial institutions:
If your car was on a loan then it becomes mandatory to visit the financial institution or lenders you have chosen for the vehicle finance. In case, the personal documents were in the car then update them with complete report details so that they can set a fraud alert on the wrong usage of credit or debit cards.
If your car isn’t recovered
If you tried all the possible steps but nothing worked out then consider going for a claim. Moreover, a claim is only possible if you have comprehensive insurance coverage. The claim with the deductible fees as well.
Besides, the insurance firm will offer the claim based on the vehicle’s worth at the time of theft. For instance, if your vehicle’s worth was $10,000 at the time of the theft, and deductible fees are $1,000 you will get $9,000 in total.
For estimating the vehicle’s worth, the insurance provider makes use of certain tools such as checking the vehicle’s repair cost and service record. It becomes crucial to share all the evidence to get the best value.
If your car is found
The happiest moment is when you come to know that your car has been recovered. It does not matter whether the police found the car or you on your own. In addition, reporting to the insurance firm becomes mandatory.
If you found the car after the claim settlement then this determines the insurer owns the car. Besides, you can buy the car again if you haven’t opted for a replacement though.
If the police have recovered the car then they will impound it and update you to pick your car up. Also, if you have recovered the stolen personal items for which you requested the claim then update the home insurer and get to know what to do next.
If the car got scratches, dents, or requires any other repair; the time has come to let the insurance provider know regarding the same. They will pay for the repair expenses by subtracting the deductible fees.
In addition, if you find any illegal substances in the car after finding it then let the police know about the same to avoid any association with the crime.
What to do if your car is stolen? Start on these simple steps we provided.
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