Check your insurance! Make sure your gear is covered!

[mjamero]

To all my wind addicts who transport or store gear in their vehicles. Please double check your home insurance and make sure you have adequate coverage!

As many of you know, my windsurfing van was broken in to in September and a good chunk of gear stolen. Fortunately, some gear was recovered. Unfortunately, some was not. I am still missing a 2015 Sailworks Retro 6.0, 6.5, a couple mast plates, and some other small items.

Regarding Insurance.
Some home insurance providers and policies have limits on how much they will cover if your property is stolen from your vehicle. Others do not have limits and use the total property coverage available.

Unfortunately, even though my policy stated I had adequate coverage for my home property, the limit of coverage for my property if stolen from my vehicle was only $1500. However, with my current policy IF the property was in a "locked compartment" separate from the passenger area it would have been increased to $10,000 (I.E glove compartment or trunk). Now, it's a little a difficult to transport ALL your windsurfing gear for two people in a trunk or glove compartment! Essentially, with a policy like this, ANYONE who has a van or a hatchback is screwed and limited to $1500 coverage.

After shopping insurance providers I am switching to TD Insurance. I have read through their fine print and also asked them specifically about windsurfing gear if stolen from an "open passenger area". They have NO limits on property stolen from your vehicle. If your home insurance states your have a maximum of $20,000 property coverage in your home that is the maximum that would be available if your gear is stolen from your vehicle. If you have $1,000,000 maximum coverage for property in your home, that is the max that would be available if stolen from your vehicle. Also, with TD there are no terms stating the property must be in a locked compared to be eligible for full coverage. As long as it's stolen from within a locked vehicle you are fully covered. Their minimum deductible is $500.

Summary
1. Your "property" is NOT covered through ICBC. It is covered through home insurance.
2. Do you transport your gear in hatchback or Van? Yes? CHECK YOUR INSURANCE fine print for limits on coverage and the terms of when it is covered and when it is not.
3. If there are limits on your coverage amount or when/where it's covered, contact your provider to update your insurance policy or, simply find a new insurance provider.

FINAL NOTE. DOCUMENT YOUR PROPERTY! Take clear photos of everything. If there are serial numbers log your serial numbers, make, model, model year, in a spread sheet. Keep all original receipts in a safe place. Engrave your gear with your drivers license number.

Be safe. See you on the water!

[drh]

Some insurance companies do not regard windsurfing gear as being under the category of personal property and won't cover your loss regardless of whether it was stolen from your home or car - or only cover a small portion of the loss. Some companies will classify it under boats or "watercraft" and others under "sports equipment." For companies that regard windsurfing gear as watercraft you would often have to pay a significant premium to have coverage for all your equipment both at home or away.