Vandalism Claims: What to Do; Will They Increase Premiums?

It could have turned out much, much worse than this! (biertijd.com)

Are you the type of person who tries to do everything right when it comes to preventing damage to your car?  You know what we’re talking about: only parking in well-lit, highly visible areas; ensuring you’ve got any valuable stowed out of sight, away from the prying eyes of thieves; and activating your car’s alarm system, if you have one.

Those are all fantastic steps that we recommend all drivers do, since prevention is always preferable to attracting problems. Yet even if you do each of these things — and more — to prevent your car from being vandalized or damaged by thieves, it can still fall victim regardless.

Vandalism Claims are Covered by Comprehensive

To file a claim for a vandalized car, you’ll need to have a comprehensive policy from your insurance company. But that’s not all it covers. Other types of claims comprehensive would pay include: having your car stolen, natural disasters and other acts of nature or acts of God.

It isn’t uncommon to hear agents refer to comprehensive policies as “other than collision” insurance. And it covers you for a large swath of bad things that can happen to your car not involving a car crash.

Think of it this way: if your car were flooded out due to massive rains spawned by an Atlantic hurricane, you’d be covered. And the same goes for situations such as when a tree limb falls onto your car. It just wouldn’t pay if you hit the tree.

So, assuming you do have a comprehensive policy – and even if you don’t – here’s what you’ll want to do if your car falls victim to a vandal.

Three Steps in Dealing with Vandals 

If your car has been vandalized or has been broken into by thieves, you’ll want to follow these three steps:

• Call the police immediately. If nothing else, the police report will help detail damage to your car, and you’ll be able to report any valuables that may have been stolen.
• Document the scene — and the condition of your car. You’ll need either a cellular phone or another device, but take pictures. And don’t try to clean up any damage or otherwise tamper with your automobile. That could destroy valuable evidence.
• Report the incident to your insurance company. Remember, you’ll have to have a comprehensive policy with them to make a claim, however.

What to Do to Prevent Vandalism and Thefts 

• Always lock it up, and don’t keep a spare set of keys in your car – even for emergency use.
• Car alarms and anti-theft devices may not prevent everything, but studies have demonstrated that even a simple “anti-theft” label can deter a thief.
• Don’t leave your car running when you’re not in it. Even if you’re just running in for a gallon of milk at the convenient store or trying to warm it up on a frigid winter day.
• Park in visible, well-lit areas. If a car is visible, thieves will avoid it to limit attention to them. Monitored lots, either by camera or a human attendent, are even better choices.
• Valuables should either be kept out of sight, or even better, left at home or on your person when you leave your car. Even bags from shopping can be tempting.
• Windows rolled up, sunroof always closed. If you’re not doing this, you’re not only tempting fate, but you’re also providing thieves and vandals an open invitation by making it easier for them to break in.

State Regulations and Laws Vary; Will Impact Potential for Increases

One of the first thoughts that may cross your mind if you have to file a vandalism claim is that you’ll be looking at paying more for your car insurance premiums.

Comprehensive claims aren’t normally accompanied by increases in your premium, however. In some situations, such as if your state allows an insurer to increase rates due to an excessive number of claims in a limite time period, you may see a slight increase.

For example, if your state allows the insurance company to raise the premium based on two claims in a year, then your vandalism claim would count towards that limit, and just one more claim would put you at the limit. That means filing another claim could result in a price increase.

But rather than being focused on that, we’d suggest that comprehensive is always a smart buy, because it costs so little in terms of the overall policy cost. Liability is normally the most expensive, which is then followed closely by collision insurance.

Liability and collision account for nearly 95 percent of a full-coverage premium, while comprehensive falls somewhere between 5 and 15 percent of the total premium cost. That’s a steal in our eyes, because it’s cheap, and it provides so many protections.

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