Insurance

FAOL Community Sound Off
1

Hi,

A few months ago my car was broken into while I was fishing. The river was high after lots of rain, and though I covered a lot of water, all I had was one missed strike, which was near the end of the day when I finally switched over to the sinking line. Still, I enjoyed myself as I was fishing parts of the river I had only just discovered.

Anyway, while fishing the last pool before my exit point, a young fellow spotted me and told me that my car was broken into. Sure enough, they had smashed the front passenger window, showed contempt for my selection of music (checked out my CDs, but left them all), and stole my fly tying kit out of the back seat. What made it worse was that as I was heading to the river I noticed the kit and thought I should leave that but decided against it since I’ve fished there many times before and have never had a problem. Anyway, we reported it to the police who dusted the CD cases for prints and found some (probably mine since we’ve heard nothing since then), and did their best.

Our car insurance company fixed the car window no problem but they don’t cover the contents of the car. However, our contents insurance policy for our apartment does cover the contents of the car. They sent a fellow around and I gave him the list of materials that was in the kit, and I had a quote put together from my local shop. It was an eye opener, because when I told the police the value of the kit I recall being quite serious when I told them it was probably worth $500, maybe even $600. Turns out, it came to $2,000! Good thing my wife also fly fishes and ties flies or I would have had some explaining to do over what would be viewed as $2,000 worth of chicken feathers. :slight_smile:

Anyway, after quite a long delay, the adjuster finally sent the report in to the insurance company (only after we started calling the Insurance company rather than the adjuster, who just ignored our calls). And, they’ve decided to fully settle on the claim! This is great, because I’ve been re-buying everything anyway.

So, just as a reminder, don’t leave anything of value in the car. If your car is broken into, and they take stuff, it may be your home contents insurance that covers it. And, most importantly, if the river is running high and discoloured, a sinking line and a large streamer is probably the way to go!

  • Jeff
2

Jeff,
Glad you were able to reimbursed for the materials. I am also glad that no harm was done to your person. As aggravating as it is, material things can be replaced, you cannot.

3

Hi Nighthawk,

Thanks for that! I was glad that the replacement was covered, but annoyed and dissappointed that it hand to be. It saddens me to have to worry about locking car doors and such when I’m out of the city. I grew up in a small town, and locked doors were rare. If you saw someone had left their lights on, you would go over to their car and turn them off for them, knowing the car would be unlocked. Now, nobody bothers to even try because the door will be locked, and the alarm set. The spot I parked in was the normal river access point, and the police were surprised when I mentioned the location (“We don’t usually have trouble up there” was one officer’s comment). Unfortunately, I’ve seen broken glass there before, and other anglers I spoke to on the day had also mentioned seeing cars broken into at times at that spot. It’s important to report the break ins, and even though it’s a big ask to expect the police to catch who did it (there’s little evidence to go on), it lets them know where the problem spots are. Also, as the constable who took my report mentioned, they will at some point arrest someone on some unrelated charge. They often then find “stolen goods” at the property. With a report, they can match up the goods with past crimes and reunite things with their proper owners.

Recently the news here reported on a fellow who has just been sentenced for breaking into cars on the South Island. Apparently, when he would do his rounds there would be a noticable spike in the rates of thefts from campers and outdoor recreational people! Simiarly, in the north island, a couple fellows were arrested and they were responsible for a high percentage of break ins like mine. What that reminds me of is that our need to lock our cars and such is due to a very small percentage of the population. Most, if unfortunately not all, people are good, honest, and helpful people. I just wish the few who cause all the fuss would redirect that energy and productivity into a useful activity.

  • Jeff
4

Jeff;
Glad to hear or the good outcome, not the delay and feeling of voilation. But, how can one prevent or at least deter something like this happening?
I have a shallow box in the back of my Jeep that holds all my gear out of sight. Throw a quilt or heavy blanket on it and it looks like I’m sleeping in the car. It may slow down the “Snatch & Grab” thieves as they can’t see what I have.
WarrenP has a heavy duty locking tool box behind the cab of his truck that holds all of his gear.
I will check my insurance to see what’s covered and by whom!
Thanks for the Wake Up!!

5

Hi Jack,

My kit was sitting on the floor, behind the driver’s seat, and covered with a blanket. They were probably hoping I left my wallet in the glove box, which I never do. The front seats are bucket seats, so they could just reach back into the backseat, check what was under the blanket (which they could see from the front) and take whatever it was.

What people here recommend is to take the following simple steps:

  1. never leave anything of value visible in the car (I had covered the kit with a blanket)
  2. never leave your wallet in the glove box
  3. leave your glove box open (to show that it’s empty; I did not do this)

Perhaps if I left the glove box open they wouldn’t have bothered? Hard to say. I just hate thinking that my kit, which I had put together over years, was probably pitched once they realised what they had!

  • Jeff
6

As Eric said, it’s a good thing that you were away from the vehicle & remained safe. I had never heard the open glove box idea, but it seems like a good one. I used to admonish my late Mother in law for locking her glove box…I would say, “Mom, if they get INTO your car, they will tear the dash apart to get into it, so why increase your damage?”
The boxes Jack & Warren have are a good idea. I also have (sadly) refrained from putting on the FAOL bumper sticker I have as I view that as a “neon sign” advertising…“EXPENSIVE GEAR MAY BE IN HERE!”.
Glad to read that you have recovered some expense.
Mike

7

good that you got back what was yours!!!

8

Jeff,
The saying “Better Safe Than Sorry” is what I go by. You can’t let your guard down. I’m glad to hear you got a settlement.
Good Luck Fishing!
Doug

9

Here in Pennsylvania we always used to leave our vehicles unlocked and the keys under the the driver’s seat while hunting or fishing. You just never knew if there was going to be a life threatening emergency that may require the use of the nearest vehicle, even if the owner was not on the scene. It was always understood that should someone need to use the vehicle to get emergency help they could do so and then return the vehicle. Regrettably, those days are of a bygone era here as well. Thank providence for cell phones. I carry mine at all times, just shut it off for privacy.

I would bet that the perpetrators who broke into your vehicle are not even fishing persons. Could be someone that has been watching the spot where you parked and knows the value of your gear. If you can identify your gear you may want to keep checking the online auction sites to see if it turns up there. Thieves will do some desperate and stupid things to peddle the gear they have stolen.

10

Hi Nighthawk,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been checking the local auction sites, but nothing’s shown up. There were a few items that, in combination, would identify the kit as mine. I had some colours of floss that are hard to find here, because they are not commonly used by most people. For example, things like Royal Blue, Emerald Green, and Wine floss aren’t used much here, but I’ve got a few patterns that use them. So far, however, it’s not shown up.

I agree and don’t think it was a fisherman who broke into the car. In the past few years there have been a couple of thieves arrested who independantly figured out that targeting the isolated parking areas of fishing hot spots can give them a large number of unprotected vehicles to go through. They will drive all day to make a circuit of the rivers, break into a bunch of cars each day, hopeing to find wallets, rings, etc, left in the glove boxes. A fellow arrested in the south island would come over from Australia, rent a car, then drive around breaking into the vehicles of people camping, fishing, tramping, etc. Apperently, he broke into so many vehicles that when he would come into the country he caused a spike in the crime rate in the area! It’s the few that affect the many.

They left the sleeping bags behind the passenger’s seat (wouldn’t be able to see them from where they were), so they weren’t interested in looking for gear per se. Unfortunately, it was probably just “spotted through the seats”, grabbed, and most likely either tossed out when they saw it was feathers and thread, or it sits in their house, unused and forgotten.

  • Jeff
11

We were up at a local mountain lake last summer when a fellow asked us if we had seen anyone near his truck. It had been broken into and His fly tying gear had been lifted along with lots of other stuff from the back of the truck. We called the police for him, who of course told us that no way could they justify sending a patrol car 45 miles into the bush to check on us . They said the guy should drop into their shop on the way through town and make out a report. The officer also said we should check out any nearby garbage cans as crooks sometimes discard unwanted loot that might be un-fenceable . I relayed this to the fellow. Sure enough when we checked the garbage cans at the campsite someone found the flytying gearand a few other items. The flytying gear was lots more valuable than the cheapo rods and reels but the crooks aparently did not know that.

He lost a couple of rod/reel combos but at least he got his flytying stuff back.

12

Jack,
A few years ago, I had to carry a bunch of expensive tools for my job. The unsurance company would not cover them in a truckbed toolbox. The tools had to be inside the vehicle. I ended up trading my truck in for a Ford Explorer. I should have traded in the job and kept the truck, but that’s another story.

Kirk

13

dont use truck box theif here wil take whole box of truck.
best bet is beheind seat or bolted under seat. or a fullseize van.