Vandalism and theft crimes are occurring every single day and can be seen almost anywhere. It can be graffiti on walls, cars, or personal property and burglary is prominent in cities like Ft. Lauderdale. If your private property and personal belongings have been stolen or vandalized and you need financial help in repairing or replacing, contact your insurance company or even us, for our public adjusters in fort lauderdale. The choice is up to you, but the things you may need to file a claim are:
- Contact local authorities and report the damages or anything that has been stolen because vandalism and theft are a criminal offense.
- Protect your property as much as you can. Mitigating the damages will benefit you during your insurance claims process because your insurance company will most likely deny your claims if there’s added damages to your property that were not stated in your claim.
- Call your insurance agent and tell them your situation.
- Have in hand your policy number, any details pertaining to the damages, and you will need to give your contact information in order for them to contact you.
- You should document your losses which includes pictures or videos you may have taken and descriptive details of the items that were lost or damaged.
Insurance Coverage from Vandalism and Theft
A standard insurance policy can cover you if:
- Your garden has been excavated and your trees are cut
- Your property may have been egged
- Your lights outdoors or indoors are broken
- Your property catches on fire
- Someone messes up your plumbing system or if your drain line was broken
- The locks on your property are glued together.
Preventing Vandalism and Theft
Anything can be prevented if you take the right and proper action. Some tips to prevent crimes like vandalism and theft from happening to you are:
- Never announce if you’re traveling.
- Be nice, friendly, and openminded to your next door neighbors, this will go a long way
- Investing in motion detectors, home security systems or both will benefit you.
- Hide any valuables you may have and put them in a place where burglars usually won’t find them
- Always keep your doors, windows and garages closed and locked.
- Always be sure to have a clean yard because that lets people know that someone is home.
Statistics
- As of December 2017, there has been a total of 9,997 reported burglaries in Ft. Lauderdale. 487 of them were burglary against businesses and 1,141 for residence.
- Vandalism on the other hand were about 1,349 offenses and this is just in Ft. Lauderdale alone.
FAQ
Will my premium increase after I file an insurance claim?
Your insurance will only go up depending on the amount of damages and the number of claims you have filed previously. Every company differs but speaking for Ft. Lauderdale itself, it should not go up if it did not make a huge damage.
I’ve been gone from my home for a long time, will I still get coverage?
You will have a difficult time handling this issue because most companies are not covering vandalism or theft damages if you’ve been gone for 30 days or more. This rule also applies if the damages caused fire. If in the instance that you’re not going to be home for a long period of time, consider investing in a vacant property insurance.
