Tis the season - Theft

[Rossi6998]

The other day, the storage facility called me to let me know there had been an incident and asked if I would come down to check my motorhome. When I arrived, I noticed all of the outside bins on my motorhome had been broken into. They thieves attempted to pry the entry door open, but they were unsuccessful in getting inside (which did surprise me).

These dirtbag thieves seemed to have had some time on their hands because they literally took everything in the bins. They even unbolted my 4,000 watt Onan Generator and my 1500 watt inverter from the motorhome and stole that too. They also unwired the 25' electrical plug from the cord box instead of cutting it.

For those who have never had something like this happen, I have learned a few lessons. First, look your policy over carefully. My motorhome insurance (Progressive) will most likely cover the damage, generator, and inverter under comprehensive coverage; however, I only had $1,000 personal effects coverage. Stop and take a good look at everything you have in your bins. $1,000 is not nearly enough in my case.

Luckily, I do have Homeowners Insurance (Farmers) and I am filing a claim with them for my personal effects; however, I have a $1,000 deductible. This deductible is fine for a home, but when you look at the cost of items in a motorhome, it can hurt a little.

So, I am most likely going to adjust my Motorhome insurance policy and increase my coverage on personal effects so I do not have to deal with two insurance companies.

So far, both insurance companies have been really good. Progressive is going to inspect the damage on the motorhome this week, so I will have a better idea of my situation by the end of the week. I managed to find a lot of receipts for the expensive stuff, but the little stuff adds up really quick. Unsure what Farmers is going to cover at this point. I am definitely going to start saving all of my receipts for items in the motorhome and I will be taking a lot of pictures.

Hope this post helps others...

[brobox]

Good post. I did cover personal effects for $5,000. as you said, they add up quick.

[mrebele]

I've never stored anything so I don't really know, but does the storage facility have some insurance? It seems that they should provide some level of security.

[ArmandV]

On homeowner/renter's/condo policies, the limit of liability for personal property away from premises is generally 10% of your contents coverage policy limit.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Rossi6998

The other day, the storage facility called me to let me know there had been an incident and asked if I would come down to check my motorhome. When I arrived, I noticed all of the outside bins on my motorhome had been broken into. They thieves attempted to pry the entry door open, but they were unsuccessful in getting inside (which did surprise me).

These dirtbag thieves seemed to have had some time on their hands because they literally took everything in the bins. They even unbolted my 4,000 watt Onan Generator and my 1500 watt inverter from the motorhome and stole that too. They also unwired the 25' electrical plug from the cord box instead of cutting it.

For those who have never had something like this happen, I have learned a few lessons. First, look your policy over carefully. My motorhome insurance (Progressive) will most likely cover the damage, generator, and inverter under comprehensive coverage; however, I only had $1,000 personal effects coverage. Stop and take a good look at everything you have in your bins. $1,000 is not nearly enough in my case.

Luckily, I do have Homeowners Insurance (Farmers) and I am filing a claim with them for my personal effects; however, I have a $1,000 deductible. This deductible is fine for a home, but when you look at the cost of items in a motorhome, it can hurt a little.

So, I am most likely going to adjust my Motorhome insurance policy and increase my coverage on personal effects so I do not have to deal with two insurance companies.

So far, both insurance companies have been really good. Progressive is going to inspect the damage on the motorhome this week, so I will have a better idea of my situation by the end of the week. I managed to find a lot of receipts for the expensive stuff, but the little stuff adds up really quick. Unsure what Farmers is going to cover at this point. I am definitely going to start saving all of my receipts for items in the motorhome and I will be taking a lot of pictures.

Hope this post helps others...

Tough luck John! Sure hope the insurance companies come through for you! Sometimes the lessons we learn the hard way can get expensive!

[Fencebuster]

We had about $6000 in theft/damage when we had our previous coach in a storage facility. Although it was well lit in front and had a pass code to get in, there were no cameras anywhere, there was no lighting around the perimeter, and, shame on us that we didn't notice there was no one nearby to monitor the goings on. The thieves came right up over the barbed wire fence and took blankets from coaches and took all of the electronics to about six motor homes and then catalytic converters to about 15 gassers. After conferring with the state police who were onsite to help with reports, we realized we needed a more secure storage facility. It isn't bulletproof, but a big improvement. It is very unfortunate that they took your items and did some damage. I hope it works out for you through your homeowners policy. I just wanted to mention that you don't have to remain in the same storage facility if you are worried about a future occurrence. We learned they are not all the same.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Too bad the thieves opened up one of the compartment doors and it hit the side of the storage bay . . . . that would make it a COLLISION claim, well, probably not . . . The insurance companies will do whatever it takes to NOT pay a claim, or to pay it in the least advantageous way to you. For instance, in this ONE occurrence, I bet you now have TWO claims on your record, even though it is two separate insurances!

Here's another example. I had a small utility trailer roll down a hill and run into my PARKED, (no one in my car) 2 month old Subaru Outback. Punched a hole in the RR quarter panel with a sharp angle iron edge on the trailer. Never did figure out who's trailer it was. Anyway, the insurance company not only processed it under my COLLISION portions of my policy (which had a higher deductible than my Comprehensive), but NOW I have a COLLISION claim on my insurance, which allowed them to raise my insurance rates. (Kentucky does not allow auto insurance companies to raise your rates due to a claim on Comprehensive). I squawked, complained, and moaned. No luck. I even ran it by the state insurance commissioners office, and they stated that under new laws that went into affect several years ago, that's legal.

[ArmandV]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

Too bad the thieves opened up one of the compartment doors and it hit the side of the storage bay . . . . that would make it a COLLISION claim, well, probably not . . . The insurance companies will do whatever it takes to NOT pay a claim, or to pay it in the least advantageous way to you. For instance, in this ONE occurrence, I bet you now have TWO claims on your record, even though it is two separate insurances!

Here's another example. I had a small utility trailer roll down a hill and run into my PARKED, (no one in my car) 2 month old Subaru Outback. Punched a hole in the RR quarter panel with a sharp angle iron edge on the trailer. Never did figure out who's trailer it was. Anyway, the insurance company not only processed it under my COLLISION portions of my policy (which had a higher deductible than my Comprehensive), but NOW I have a COLLISION claim on my insurance, which allowed them to raise my insurance rates. (Kentucky does not allow auto insurance companies to raise your rates due to a claim on Comprehensive). I squawked, complained, and moaned. No luck. I even ran it by the state insurance commissioners office, and they stated that under new laws that went into affect several years ago, that's legal.

No, collision wouldn't come into play as the proximate cause of the loss/damage was due to a burglary and theft. Collision comes into play if it is vehicle vs. vehicle. If they attempted to steal another MH and hit the other MH, then collision would come into play, and subject to the collision deductible on top of the deductible under the comprehensive coverage for the stolen items and the other damage.

In the case of the OP, only one deductible applies and that's the comprehensive deductible.

But, since he is also filing under his homeowner's policy, that also has a deductible and both insurers would have to pro rate the amounts they would pay as there's overlapping or duplicate coverage.

[Rossi6998]

Originally Posted by mrebele

I've never stored anything so I don't really know, but does the storage facility have some insurance? It seems that they should provide some level of security.

Similar to what "FenceBuster" stated, this storage facility is pretty well lit, has security cameras, a security gate with keypad, high brick walls, and my motorhome is located near the front of the facility. At this point, I don't believe the facility was negligent. It would be different if the keypad was broken and anyone could enter, or the lights had burned out and they did not replace them, but this was not the case. Unfortunately, it is thieves being thieves and my motorhome was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The facility manager actually called me to check on my motorhome because the person who parks next to me had some items stolen from his work truck. The manager is reviewing the video footage now. Hopefully, something will show up.

[Rossi6998]

Originally Posted by Fencebuster

We had about $6000 in theft/damage when we had our previous coach in a storage facility. Although it was well lit in front and had a pass code to get in, there were no cameras anywhere, there was no lighting around the perimeter, and, shame on us that we didn't notice there was no one nearby to monitor the goings on. The thieves came right up over the barbed wire fence and took blankets from coaches and took all of the electronics to about six motor homes and then catalytic converters to about 15 gassers. After conferring with the state police who were onsite to help with reports, we realized we needed a more secure storage facility. It isn't bulletproof, but a big improvement. It is very unfortunate that they took your items and did some damage. I hope it works out for you through your homeowners policy. I just wanted to mention that you don't have to remain in the same storage facility if you are worried about a future occurrence. We learned they are not all the same.

Yea... Looking for a new facility now while motorhome is at RV Dealership waiting to be repaired. I always felt my current storage facility was fairly secure and I have been there for years, but now I am afraid the thieves will come back after my motorhome is repaired.

[ChasA]

The thieves very likely will be back in about 6 months. That's the usual timing.

[Mike and Cha]

John, when you get this all settled hopefully your insurance comes through for you, if not check and see what State farm will insure you for. We have replacement cost for contents on our cars, Motorhome and House. I actually had to use it when our car was stolen while on vacation. I made a list of the contents and then went out and purchased replacements, once I gave State Farm the receipts for purchase they refunded me 100%. The original deductible was charged to the car and they automatically put all the contents through the homeowners and didn't charge an additional deductible and treat it as another claim. I know sometimes you can find cheaper insurance, but I have been very happy with State Farm and our MH premium is in line with what others report. Good luck on getting back to normal.

[PapaBobby]

A couple of years ago, before I traded our class C for our class A, I went to get the rig to go camping and found out some thieves had unbolted and stole our generator. The first hint of something wrong were loose bolts and nuts on the ground. When I told the storage facility I was told they had several thefts of generators and propane containers. They felt bad and apologize for the loss. They gave me two months free storage, which was a nice gesture. When I called the local police dept. to file a report I was told to file a report online. Yea, right. After I filed my insurance claim I took the rig to Camping World for the replacement. After all was said and done Camping World waived my $250.00 deductible due to a slight delay in repairs. Funny thing is, in the 6 years we had the rig we probably used the old generator less than 10 times. And after the generator was replaced we never used it.😕

[Rossi6998]

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

John, when you get this all settled hopefully your insurance comes through for you, if not check and see what State farm will insure you for. We have replacement cost for contents on our cars, Motorhome and House. I actually had to use it when our car was stolen while on vacation. I made a list of the contents and then went out and purchased replacements, once I gave State Farm the receipts for purchase they refunded me 100%. The original deductible was charged to the car and they automatically put all the contents through the homeowners and didn't charge an additional deductible and treat it as another claim. I know sometimes you can find cheaper insurance, but I have been very happy with State Farm and our MH premium is in line with what others report. Good luck on getting back to normal.

Thank you for the advice. I am actually very happy with both Progressive (RV Insurance) and Farmers (Homeowners Insurance). So far, they have handled my claims quickly and fairly. They can only work with the coverage I have and they have done a good job. Everyone has been very nice and helpful, except for my Farmers Insurance agent. She was useless and difficult to get a hold of. As of last Friday, I fired her and switched my policies to a new agent closer to my house.