Does Your Car Insurance Cover Theft?
Your car has been stolen. Does your car insurance cover car theft?
What does insurance cover if your car is stolen?
Theft is not included in basic car insurance.
To keep your car secure against theft, you need to opt into one or all of the following additional insurance coverages.
Comprehensive insurance: Comprehensive insurance provides additional protection not included in basic car insurance policies and helps secure your car against theft.
Comprehensive insurance will help:
- Replace a stolen car
- Replace parts that are stolen or damaged
- Repair damages to your car from theft or a break-in
Comprehensive insurance also helps cover vandalism, damage from collision with wildlife, broken or shattered windows and a cracked windshield, natural disasters, and weather.
Specified Perils: If you don’t want to add comprehensive insurance but you still want to secure your car from theft, you can add a specified peril such as theft.
All perils insurance: It’s also known as “all risk” insurance. It combines comprehensive and collision insurance.
Collision insurance is an optional insurance that helps cover the costs of damage if your car is in an accident by hitting another car or object.
All perils insurance provides drivers with coverage against the majority of perils. If your tolerance for risk is low, it’s worth considering but it’s usually expensive.
What if my stolen car isn’t recovered?
If you’ve secured your car against theft with the proper insurance and it’s stolen but not recovered, it will be considered a total loss.
You will work with your insurance provider to agree on the market value or actual cash value (ACV). This is the amount that would be paid to you.
You will not be reimbursed for the original value of the vehicle or the cost of a replacement.
What if your car is stolen and it’s not paid off?
Until your car loan is paid in full, you are still obligated to make payments even if your stolen car is not recovered. You can apply any insurance payout that you receive to help pay off your car loan.
Most insurance companies will have a waiting period to see if your stolen car turns up before offering a settlement for it.
What to do if your car is stolen?
Contact the police and your insurance provider without delay.
Your insurer will open an investigation and will want a copy of the police report.
You will need to provide the following information:
- Where was your car stolen? The time and date are also needed.
- Vehicle details: Year, make, model, kilometers, any distinguishing marks such as stickers or scratches.
What is car security:
- Making sure you have theft protection insurance for your car.
- Investing in anti-theft devices.
- Always lock your car doors.
- Not leaving the keys in the ignition.
- Not leaving valuables in your car or keeping them well out of sight.
- Parking in well-lit areas.
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Western Coast Insurance Services Ltd. is a wholly owned division of Western Financial Group Ltd. Insurance products are underwritten by certain licensed insurance companies and are only available throughout British Columbia, Canada.