Stolen Car Is Found After Insurance Has Paid For It – Car thefts and car accidents are so common that most car owners have car insurance depending on the type of car they own. There are different conditions and policies regarding car theft insurance.
What is the stolen car’s insurance policy?
For car theft insurance, you must know the best car insurance policies also the types of Insurance. Many people think that having just car insurance will cover everything regarding the car they own. Still, in reality, people don’t know the coverage the insurance company will offer to them. Car insurance policy varies from company to company, and it depends on the car model you have and its cost. Having auto insurance will not help you, but it is necessary to have comprehensive Insurance and auto insurance if you want to have car theft coverage. All the car theft-related problems come under complete: stolen car parts, a whole vehicle stolen, or damage caused by other people, especially thieves.
Suppose you have comprehensive insurance and auto insurance. In that case, the company will cover the stolen car by giving you a new vehicle or might provide you with money depending on the conditions and company. The Insurance will cover the broken or stolen parts, but only if significant amounts are stolen, not the minor ones; for example, they won’t obscure the car’s audio system.
They will replace the parts. Comprehensive Insurance will also give coverage to the damaged parts of your car if the thief does the damage. This damage can be a break-in or an attempted break-in. It will also cover even if the windows are slightly damaged. If you gave your car for rent or loan claim, it must have comprehensive Insurance of that car. Along with this, a policy claims that they will provide the victim a discount if they have some anti-theft system or software installed in their vehicle. This system can be any device, for example, a burglar alarm.
Comprehensive Insurance does not include any personal item which is stolen along with your car. The insurance company will not give coverage to the money in your car or any expensive belonging in the vehicle. If you want to claim such Insurance, you will have to be under homeowner insurance and comprehensive and auto insurance. Also, if you claim for theft, then you are responsible for the deductible fee as well. For example, your car has Insurance of $10000, and your deductible fee is $500, then the Insurance will only pay you $9500.
The comprehensive insurance policy does not cover rental cars. It means that they won’t give you money or any replacement until the theft claim is resolved. So for adding Insurance for your rental cars, you need to have rental reimbursement insurance. Remember all these additional insurances such as comprehensive Insurance, homeowner insurance, rental reimbursement insurance, etc. It comes with additional costs, so you have to pay an extra fee along with auto insurance. Generally, in the United States of America, total insurance costs around $160. In South Dakota state, it is the highest, reaching $308 approximately, and Washington it is the lowest,$113 almost.
If your car is stolen, then what actions should you perform?
One day you suddenly wake up, and your car is unfortunately gone, probably taken by a thief. But you don’t need to worry that much if you have an excellent Auto Insurance policy along with a comprehensive approach. If you have comprehensive Insurance for your car, then in the case if your vehicle is stolen, the insurance company with either replace your vehicle or give you the money according to their policy.
But the first thing you have to do as a responsible citizen, no matter if you will be getting a new car or money, you have to inform the please before disclosing the insurance company and claiming theft insurance. Any claim you make, the police have to make a report first. In this case, even if your car is not recovered, at least the police will make efforts to catch the thief, bring them in front of the law, and save other people from becoming the victim of car theft.
The second thing you have to do is inform the insurance company and claim for it. While making a claim, you will need a few documents with you, a certificate of vehicle title, name, and contact information of all those who used or had access to the car; companies might even ask you to tell the location of your car keys. You will be asked to describe your vehicle.
This description must include service records, upgrades, mileages, etc. It would be even better to provide the receipts. You will also need to give the report and list of all the personal items you had in your car. Rental or home insurance policies must provide you the money or replacement for the unique items stolen. If your card has affiliations with a leasing company or your car is for rent purposes, contact them and provide the details to the insurance company.
By informing the leasing or renting company’s your claim process might become a little bit easy. Also, the insurance company might provide you a vehicle theft questionnaire so remember to fill it correctly and do not make any mistakes and stressful situations. All of these things will expire during the process of claim. Once you settle the claim, the insurance company will pay you the cost of the car of its present selling value. They will also subtract the deductible or excess fee from the final insurance check. Naturally, you will get less money from the amount you paid for the car.
For example, the car you bought was $2,000 and the current selling value is $1500, and the excess fee is $200, then you will be receiving $1300 as the final payment. If people don’t give you money and they will replace your stolen car with a new car. It shows that they are actually buying the previous car from you, and now they are the owner of the stolen car.
They are selling the new car by taking the old car, which is, in this case, a stolen car. After giving you the new car or money, you are not the previous car owner in both cases. The insurance company now owns the vehicle because they have paid for it in a new car or money. If the vehicle gets back to you, then the insurance company is the owner, and legally the car belongs to them, and you can not claim the vehicle from them after receiving the new car or money.
The case where the car is returned?
The recovery of a stolen car is rare, but if it turns to you, then there are a few conditions. As theft has become a crime and within police records, the police and Insurance company are also directly related and contacted. Whatever happens to the car, the police will inform you and the insurance company the vehicle is affiliated with to avoid any miscommunications. As I mentioned that after the claim insurance company will give you a new car or compensate you with the money, it depicts that the insurance company has bought the car, and now they are the owners. In this case, of course, it is your responsibility to send the vehicle back to the insurance company.
Legally they are the owners, and they can claim it now. If you keep the car back with you, knowing that you are not the owner directly, then the Insurance company can file a case against you which is whole new trouble. After informing about the car insurance company will send their team to take the car from you. This entire delivery process is at the expense of the insurance company. If the insurance company charges you with the delivery fee, then know that it is illegal, and you can file a case against them or refuse to give the money.
The second option the insurance company will choose is to take the new car or money back from the victim and provide you with the original card you had. You can discuss these terms and conditions with the insurance company. An example of this is when A has got the new car after stolen from and drop the new car for two months. Until he receives a stolen car from the police is allowed to drive the new vehicle. After receiving the stolen car, he has to return the new car to the Insurance company. If there are any personal items in the car, then rental or Home Insurance will take them, but you can negotiate with them and take the individual items back. The majority time, insurance companies return the items and are lenient with them.
There is one case where the police do not inform the insurance company and directly inform you about the stolen car. You have both the cars at the same time. So as a responsible person, you need to notify the company and return the car. If somehow you don’t give the car and the Insurance company finds about it, and they can charge you with the fraudulent case. The whole insurance process is very complicated so inform the companies in all the circumstances to not trust any frauds and save yourself from further more troubles.
How to prevent your car from being stolen?
The best way to save yourself from the hassles of complicated insurance company processes is to take strict measures before the car is stolen. Install an anti-theft device in your vehicle. Anti-theft devices are of great help and reduce the chances of car stealing. There are several devices, for example, a steering lock. This lock has a separate key which only you possess. No one can take that key if you keep it in a safe place. If the steering is locked, the thief cannot drive it even if he has the keys to your car. The updated vehicles mean modern vehicles also have developed systems.
They have passive alarms installed in them. So whenever the key is removed from the ignition system, the alarm is activated. If someone tries to steal the car, the alarm will go on buzzing. To deactivate this alarm, one needs an access code. The thief does not know that code, so whenever someone tries to open the car or start it. The notice will keep buzzing unless someone turns it off. Anti-theft devices also include a system which when activated, will cut of the ignition system, and no one can start the car unless you turn the system off. Also, now cars have a system installed in them which can help the police track your vehicles. These anti-theft devices have a higher price, but it has pros which can save you from more significant financial troubles.
While driving, always remembers to keep your doors locked so that you can not be at the risk of theft and whenever you are out, keep the gates, sunroof locked, and the windows closed. Whenever you are out, keep the car keys with you and make sure that you don’t misplace them. Also, don’t be absent-minded and while going out of the car for a few minutes, take the car keys with you. Never leave the car keys in the vehicle.
Keep your title vehicle certificate in a safe place. Whenever police are checking, they check this registration certificate. So if you keep it in the car and the thief takes the car. He has access to the registration card and can show it to the police and pretends that car is under their ownership. To avoid this, keep the registration card in a safe place.
Whenever you are purchasing a car, you get the vehicle identification number. Paste that identification number on every window of your vehicle. Use a strong sticker so that it is difficult to remove. Psychologically, the thief will not take risks and will leave your car without stealing it.
Thieves tend to perform their actions in the dark so that no one can notice them or take any action. So whenever you are parking at night time. Remember to park your car in a lighted area or an area where a crowd is present. So that it will be difficult for the thief to steal it. Also, be aware not to leave any expensive or valuable thing in your car. Whenever you go out, remember to put the valuables in a safe spot.
Do not give your car keys to anyone around if you don’t trust the next person. Usually, when you are in an emergency, you forget about the small things in your hand. So if you are a man, keep the keys in your front pocket. Where you can quickly put your hand and if you are a woman. Then keep the keys in a safety pouch in your handbag or the bags.
Conclusion:
Overall the insurance company processes are complicated. And one has to go through a lot of paperwork and investigations to claim the Insurance. Remember to have a good insurance policy and. Along with auto insurance, have comprehensive Insurance as well. So that it will cover any damage caused to your vehicle while stealing or if it’s whole stolen.
In the end, after investigations, you will be getting a new car from the insurance company. But do remember to inform them as well whenever you find your stolen car as a responsible citizen. When you find the stolen car. It will depend on the insurance company to take back the stolen car as they are the legal owners now or exchange the stolen car with the new car they gave to you. It will depend on the discussions of the insurance company. In both cases, you will be given the vehicle, but follow some tips to avoid car-stealing in daily life.
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