| The first thing your auto insurance company will do is | | | | If they do not find any information that exempts |
| review your policy to confirm that it even covers | | | | them from payment they will now pay you. After |
| theft. Not all policies do. If yours does not, you are | | | | accepting payment you surrender all rights to the |
| out of luck. Often, only plans with comprehensive | | | | vehicle if it is recovered. If the car is found, the |
| coverage will pay theft claims. However, if your | | | | insurance company will sell it to recoup their losses |
| policy does cover these claims, your company will | | | | from paying your claim. |
| move on to the next step. | | | | What about stereos and CD players? These items |
| If your policy does cover theft, your insurance | | | | are common targets for thieves, but if you have one |
| company will contact either you or the police to | | | | stolen the insurance company might not be able to |
| obtain a copy of the police report. Always report | | | | help you for a number of reasons. First, most police |
| theft to the police because they will not pay your | | | | departments will not send an officer out to your car |
| claim without it. | | | | to make a written report unless you have a good |
| Next, the insurance company will likely want to | | | | idea of who stole it. Second, the fine print of most |
| conduct their own independent investigation. They will | | | | insurance companies excludes claims for personal |
| want a statement from you, and they will will | | | | items inside a car that are stolen. Finally, even if your |
| attempt to interview any possible witnesses or | | | | policy does cover CD players there is a good chance |
| anyone else who may know something about the | | | | that the deductible will be higher than what they will |
| theft. They are trying to find information that may | | | | pay you since insurance companies will claim that the |
| exempt them from having to pay the claim under the | | | | CD player has greatly depreciated in value since you |
| policy, such as negligence on your part. | | | | purchased it. |