Does insurance cover a stolen car?
Auto theft is one of the biggest threats to your vehicle and safety, but is it covered by all insurance types?
Statistics Canada can give us some hard numbers based on the2016 census: out of over 2 million crimes in the country, nearly 80,000 of them were for “theft of motor vehicle.” That’s about 25% of all crime, and it comes at an increase of more than five thousand from the census before that. Vehicle theft, therefore, is not going anywhere.
Something that may be a bit more common is having items stolen from your car's interior, but let's see which policy types actually allow you to claim the complete loss of your vehicle.
Your insurance
Your auto-insurance will cover vehicle theft, but only if you have the proper coverage. Because auto-theft coverage is rarely included in basic insurance policies, you may need to escalate your coverage if you want to stay on the safe side of this statistic.
Comprehensive coverage, which comes as an optional addition to your insurance policy, will cover vehicle theft as a result of unforeseen circumstances. As you edge up the insurance type list, more perils are covered.
With comprehensive insurance coverage, you are protected from damage to your vehicle caused by sudden events that do not involve collisions. Whether your car is parked in a flood zone during a storm, a tree falls on its roof, or it gets stolen, comprehensive coverage is the only insurance type that will reimburse you in these cases, even if you are able to recover your car.
That feeling
What would you do if your car got stolen?
If you do suspect that your car has been stolen, first check to see if you have mistaken your parking spot. Next, call the police immediately. If you act quickly enough, or talk to someone who may have been a witness, you may be able to find your car with minimal damage.
Have all important details ready, including: vehicle description, last known location, license plate information, and any other identifying details.
If you still cannot locate your vehicle, you need to call your insurance provider and ask about filing a claim based on the police report.
If you added something called “rental reimbursement coverage” to your policy, you’ll have a rental car available for you until your claim is processed by your insurance company.
Check your policy
Remember, this comprehensive coverage is only optional. You need to check with your provider to see what is covered under your present policy. The standard liability coverage does not protect your car from theft. Liability coverage will, however, cover your butt in case you damage someone’s property or vehicle. Collison coverage will cover the costs of repair in the event of an accident.