Home Break-in --- Claims and Obtaining Alarm Reports

[kl323]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Hey all,

I recently had a break-in. The perps took only my safe and made a break for it. Anyway, for the items in my safe, I only manage to recover some of the receipts I had.

Is photographic evidence useful in this situation of the items I owned (e.g. heirlooms, etc)? Also...would reimbursement be based on the current value of the item (e.g. gold or diamond) or does the value depreciate?

Thanks! It has been a nerve challenging week. hope to get some answers soon! Thanks again!

 

[You Are Guilty]

It depends entirely on the type of insurance coverage you have: Replacement? ACV? Stated limits?

You should be able to get specific answers from your adjuster.

 

[ecmst12]

Jewelry doesn't generally depreciate, but if it is very valuable you should have had separate riders for it.

 

[kl323]

Thanks for the replies. What are riders? I'm very disappointed to learn that my our policy does not cover for theft.

I am EXTREMELY SHOCKED at this. My father is the one who handled the insurance purchase, so I had no idea what was going on at the time.

Here are the issues:
1) When one purchases home insurance, does one need to sign waivers in order to waive theft coverage? (I'm thinking of cellphones and insurance policies for those... typically carriers ask you to sign a waiver stating that you are declining insurance).

2) What are riders? My mom purchased a diamond ring awhile ago. Is there an automatic protection policy in effect for such an expensive purchase at the jewelery shop?

3) I also have an alarm company. According to them, they notified the police first and then called me. I rushed home in a matter of 10 minutes to find my house broken into. At that point, there were no cops. I ended up calling 911 again to have them dispatch the police. My question is... can I hold the alarm company responsible for not following up with the dispatch? Cops did not show up until 40-50 minutes after the break in. In fact, I'm not even sure if they would show up or not had I not personally made the call to 911.

4) Is it possible to obtain dispatch records and time stamps of when the first cops arrived to the scene?

5) According to my alarm company, they state that they are only responsible for calling my local precinct in the event of a problem. They are not required to follow-up on the issue. Nor are they required to confirm the arrival of the police. Is this standard practice or is this negligence?

Thanks!!! Urgently awaiting your replies. Really appreciate it!

 

[ecmst12]

If your policy does not cover theft, then it does not cover theft. Nothing you can do about that now.

If it DID cover theft, there would be a specific policy limit which is the maximum they would pay for all covered property. If you have a few very valuable items, you want to have SEPARATE coverage for them, so that reimbursement won't use up the whole policy limit leaving nothing for smalller items. I don't know if there's a specific dollar amount that they recommend extra coverage for, but generally anything you consider of significant value it's a good idea to look into it. Your mom's ring would be a perfect example. Nothing is automatic - you have to ask for it and pay for it.

Is this your parents' home or yours?

 

[kl323]

My parent's home.

What can I do at this point for them? I mean.. it seems meaningless to beef up the coverage since they already took what we have.

I'll still at least add the theft coverage. What other protections should we ought to have in light of this event?

I gotta check flood, fire, etc. I believe flood coverage is entirely separate too..

 

[tammy8]

Whose items were stolen?

Your parent's?
Yours? If so how old are you?

 

[TheGeekess]

And the police may have been otherwise occupied and a car was sent as soon as it was free.

 

[kl323]

Whose items were stolen?

Your parent's?
Yours? If so how old are you?

Some cash, jewelery (wedding heirlooms, rings), watches, documents (passports)..

House belongs to my parents. I'm in my 20s. May I ask why my age matters?

 

[ecmst12]

You have NO standing to make any choices about the insurance coverage nor is it any of your business. You are welcome to take out a renters policy to cover your property at your parents' house.

 

[tammy8]

Yep over 18 and not in college, you have noinsurable interest in this claim AND NO personal property coverage UNLESS you have a renter's policy.

 

[ecmst12]

Well his property could be covered if he is listed as an insured resident on the policy, but it doesn't matter since there was no coverage for theft.

 

[kl323]

You have NO standing to make any choices about the insurance coverage nor is it any of your business. You are welcome to take out a renters policy to cover your property at your parents' house.

Umm... I can understand why you would say that. On the basis of legality and technicality... the house is theirs and they can do as they please. The issue is not that.

Please understand that my parents are CONSULTING me and asking me to find out as much information as I can. Please also understand that my parents only have one child (me) to help them consider various scenarios and to inform them of things they may have no knowledge of. Please also understand that my parents speak limited English. So as their child, I have an obligation to keep them informed and knowledgeable before making any decision. This is especially important because I had ZERO say in their prior coverage selection. Had I saw the oversight of no personal property protection, I would have made that inquiry and ask them why. In hindsight, MY parents wished that I was more involved. I regret NOT being more involve. Going forward, our family, as a whole decided to be more accountable and wise in our decision making process.

But like you said, ultimately, what they decide to do.. it is up to them. That is what I tell my parents even if they encourage me to decide for them.

I respectfully end this by saying, yes, it is my business. It is in my family's best interest that we discuss and explore all avenues before making a decision in anything major.

 

[ecmst12]

Find an insurance agent who speaks your parents' language so he or she can explain everything to them in detail. That would be a much better idea since an agent actually knows everything about insurance instead of who who knows nothing.

 

[tammy8]

What kind of homeowner's policy is there that does not include thief of YOUR parent's property? Is this a fire policy?

What kind of of coverage do you OP?