TragicTom wrote:
I'm in the process of trying to take care of this but I thought that maybe someone out there could help me understand while I'm waiting by the phone for a call.I let my roommate borrow some of my equipment and,on Friday,my camera,lens,and light meter got stolen out of her car along with a bunch of her stuff.I'm trying to figure out if my personal property insurance will cover it or if my renter's insurance will cover it.Any advice?

First.. it should be her auto insurance.. but probably she dosent have full coverage.. if not..

try reading your renters policy.. see if they list your possessions if they are out of your rental property.. if not.. check the personal property policy..

but if it got stolen from her car.. I would check the auto policy first for theft etc..

I am not in the insurance game.. but my family has been foe many years.. my grandfather and my father both had long carreers in the insurance business.. and I still know alot about what they did.

Chili wrote:
Auto insurance (hers, yours, mine,) NEVER EVER NEVER covers the contents of a vehicle, not even an after market CD player or radar detector, whether it be via theft or even if the car was struck and it and everything else totalled

WRONG.
I'm sure there are companies out there who exclude such things specifically in a policy, but in fact most car policies WILL cover an aftermarket stereo if it's actually installed in the car (though probably not a detachable CD player you can take with you). If it's something normally used in the car only, it's covered by most policies.
A radar detector, however, is probably not covered by most, as it's pretty much used to do things the insurance companies don't want you doing (speeding), so you got one thing right...

How do I know this? My "full time" civilian job is a Claim Representative for a major insurance company. I deal with these all day and have for over 4 years.

TragicTom wrote:
I'm trying to figure out if my personal property insurance will cover it or if my renter's insurance will cover it.Any advice?

Ask your insurance company.  What they say means a lot more than what we say.

p51 wrote:
It probably won't be on the auto policy at all, it laregly depends on how it's written, though. Get her claim info and call the claims people directly. Have the person put you in the parties as owning stuff in the car. That way they can talk to you and you can get a denial letter if it's warranted.
It's certainly not on liability. There is no liability here, except what the theif did. Ther'es no liability on the person who owns the car, even if they left them in plain sight. You'd have to prove they set out to have the car broken into on purpose. That ain't gonna happen.
Homeowners? Does this other person have homeowner or renter's insurance? If so, make sure they file and claim and find out what exclusions exist. Probably not covered there either, though, but it won't hurt to ask.

WRONG.
I'm sure there are companies out there who exclude such things specifically in a policy, but in fact most car policies WILL cover an aftermarket stereo if it's actually installed in the car (though probably not a detachable CD player you can take with you). If it's something normally used in the car only, it's covered by most policies.
A radar detector, however, is probably not covered by most, as it's pretty much used to do things the insurance companies don't want you doing (speeding), so you got one thing right...

How do I know this? My "full time" civilian job is a Claim Representative for a major insurance company. I deal with these all day and have for over 4 years.

JFC

the OP concern wasnt the G'damn stereo, so why even bother to address that point to begin with, right or wrong, thats a moot point

therefore, ACTUALLY i got everthing RIGHT (that matters) ;-)

the OP's concern was personal belongings left either in a trunk or in plain sight that was allegedly stolen

NEITHER OF which is EVER covered by ANY AUTO insurance policy

(well sir, i stayed at a holiday inn express recently so there)

now as a side bar, i dont know where/what agency you work for BUT

Geico, State Farm, and All State (in the state of NY)

do not cover high end stereo systems (bazooka speakers, sub woofers, amplifiers, xtra batteries, capacitors, fancy lights under the car, even custom rims, etc installed in/on a vehicle, if it isnt original equipment, and it gets stolen/damaged, you are S.O.L.

(unless MAYBE IF you specified that the vehicle had been outfitted with custom equipment, stated the value of said equipment, and you were charged a surcharge to cover its loss)

NOW back to the matter at hand

if by some chance, the OP itemized their photography equipment on their homowners policy, then much like a diamond ring, paintings, fine wines, fine works of art (like my photographs for instance), it would be covered regardless of how/where/why/when it was stolen

ALSO

if they recently purchased said equipment, and they happened to use your Amex gold, Platinum, or Black card, it is covered under ANY circumstances for 90 days

it might be helpful too to try to remember for certain, if the stuff was actually in the car or did it disappear from someplace else?

Chili wrote:
the OP concern wasnt the G'damn stereo, so why even bother to address that point to begin with, right or wrong, thats a moot point

therefore, ACTUALLY i got everthing RIGHT (that matters) ;-)

the OP's concern was personal belongings left either in a trunk or in plain sight that was allegedly stolen

NEITHER OF which is EVER covered by ANY AUTO insurance policy

(well sir, i stayed at a holiday inn express recently so there)

now as a side bar, i dont know where/what agency you work for BUT

Geico, State Farm, and All State (in the state of NY)

do not cover high end stereo systems (bazooka speakers, sub woofers, amplifiers, xtra batteries, capacitors, fancy lights under the car, even custom rims, etc installed in/on a vehicle, if it isnt original equipment, and it gets stolen/damaged, you are S.O.L.

(unless MAYBE IF you specified that the vehicle had been outfitted with custom equipment, stated the value of said equipment, and you were charged a surcharge to cover its loss)

NOW back to the matter at hand

if by some chance, the OP itemized their photography equipment on their homowners policy, then much like a diamond ring, paintings, fine wines, fine works of art (like my photographs for instance), it would be covered regardless of how/where/why/when it was stolen

ALSO

if they recently purchased said equipment, and they happened to use your Amex gold, Platinum, or Black card, it is covered under ANY circumstances for 90 days

it might be helpful too to try to remember for certain, if the stuff was actually in the car or did it disappear from someplace else?

I talked with our regional claims office in New York today, and our company doesn’t have any of the exclusions you talk about, other than the radar detectors (which is common in most states). Companies can exclude whatever they want on policies and while some things are commonly excluded (such as Nitrous Oxide bottles and things like that) the states do not usually dictate what will and won’t be covered. The companies do that. And no state has a specific lock on certain items that aren’t covered. It just doesn’t work that way.
So pretty much, no, you’re NOT right, You’re really not even close. You may have had a claim (or more than likely just know someone who told you this), but no, you’re really not right. I confirmed that there is additional coverage available for some of these items that are especially high-end, but in New York, anything that is actually a part of the car that isn’t used anywhere else, IT’S COVERED. Just like in every other state I’ve ever seen a claim for.
Beats me why I’m even typing this, as I get this kind of ignorance all day at work. Ignorance is fine, but when dealing with insurance, it always seems to be tempered with arrogance as well, which has clearly happened here. They say that everyone’s a comedian. In fact, everyone is a claims adjuster. Everyone THINKS they know how claims work, when in fact almost nobody really does. Hardly anyone understands liability, the concepts of coverage or who’s at fault in most collisions.
Almost everything I KNEW to be true about insurance before I got this job in 2002 turned out to be wrong.
I tell people all the time to never, EVER rely on what “some guy I knowâ€? tells you. You can bank on them not having a clue what they’re talking about unless they actually handle claims for a living…

p51 wrote:

I talked with our regional claims office in New York today, and our company doesn’t have any of the exclusions you talk about, other than the radar detectors (which is common in most states). Companies can exclude whatever they want on policies and while some things are commonly excluded (such as Nitrous Oxide bottles and things like that) the states do not usually dictate what will and won’t be covered. The companies do that. And no state has a specific lock on certain items that aren’t covered. It just doesn’t work that way.
So pretty much, no, you’re NOT right, You’re really not even close. You may have had a claim (or more than likely just know someone who told you this), but no, you’re really not right. I confirmed that there is additional coverage available for some of these items that are especially high-end, but in New York, anything that is actually a part of the car that isn’t used anywhere else, IT’S COVERED. Just like in every other state I’ve ever seen a claim for.
Beats me why I’m even typing this, as I get this kind of ignorance all day at work. Ignorance is fine, but when dealing with insurance, it always seems to be tempered with arrogance as well, which has clearly happened here. They say that everyone’s a comedian. In fact, everyone is a claims adjuster. Everyone THINKS they know how claims work, when in fact almost nobody really does. Hardly anyone understands liability, the concepts of coverage or who’s at fault in most collisions.
Almost everything I KNEW to be true about insurance before I got this job in 2002 turned out to be wrong.
I tell people all the time to never, EVER rely on what “some guy I knowâ€? tells you. You can bank on them not having a clue what they’re talking about unless they actually handle claims for a living…

i didnt say the states, i said the insurance companies

now do me a favour call your NY rep AGAIN and ask him what the loss payout will be for this scenario:

a guy who's car is valued at $7000, was stolen, (he has fire, theft, collison) the guy claims he put $10,000 worth of stereo equipment in it, and has receipts

"HOW MUCH IS THE INSURANCE COMPANY GOING TO PAY ON THIS LOSS?"

AND again, this has absolutely nothing to do with personal items left in a vehicle, they are not covered in any theft, as i said

Chili wrote:
i didnt say the states, i said the insurance companies

now do me a favour call your NY rep AGAIN and ask him what the loss payout will be for this scenario:

a guy who's car is valued at $7000, was stolen, (he has fire, theft, collison) the guy claims he put $10,000 worth of stereo equipment in it, and has receipts

"HOW MUCH IS THE INSURANCE COMPANY GOING TO PAY ON THIS LOSS?"

AND again, this has absolutely nothing to do with personal items left in a vehicle, they are not covered in any theft, as i said

They'll pay the actual value of what is part of the car. Just like I said. But electronics drop in value quickly soon after they're bought. Sure, someone pays a lot of money on a stereo system, but soon, other stuff comes along, and what they bought just doesn't hold the market value much. It never has. Ask anyone who deals in setereo stuff, they'll tell you the same thing. The unit you buy this year for, say, $500.00 will be out next year or later than that with the same features for $300.00 or maybe less. It's the way it's always been.
Most insurance companies won't total a car out for just the radio, though, no matter how much is put into it...