Does car insurance cover theft of my personal belongings from my car?
Someone broke my car window and stole my laptop and case. Does car insurance cover theft of my personal belongings from my car?
If you have a habit of leaving your laptop, gym bag or expensive CD collection in your car, you won't get any coverage from your personal auto insurance policy to replace them if stolen.
Car insurance is not intended to insure your personal property, its purpose is to protect you financially in case of an accident or fix your car in the event of a fire, theft, hail storm or other cause of loss. Your personal property is insured by your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy, not your car insurance policy. Your homeowner's insurance covers your personal property anywhere in the world up to a certain limit. The coverage amount will be specified as a percentage of your personal property limit, or Coverage B on your policy.
Unfortunately, most homeowner's policies have a higher deductible than a car insurance policy. So unless you are the victim of a significant theft amount, there is a good chance that the property stolen from your car won't meet the amount needed to file a claim. If you don't own a home, but rent an apartment, renter's insurance is cheap coverage and can provide you with liability and property coverage.
For more information on how to prevent theft from occuring, read our article on preventing car theft.
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