Some of my followers may know that at the end of September, this
year I was unfortunate enough to get my car broken into and over £10,000’s
worth of kit was stolen. Luckily the
story has a happy ending as most of the equipment ended up being recovered and
my insurance paid out for the remainder, but more of that later. By reading this article hopefully some of you
will be able to learn from my mistakes and become a little bit wiser regarding
the way that you look at your equipment and the way you choose your insurance. So, if the worst was to ever happen you know you’re covered.
Is
there anything I can do to ensure the speedy recovery of my equipment?
· Inventory all of your equipment. Prior to the theft, I had the majority of my
equipment inventoried, and this included small items that could get overlooked
such as p-clips tied onto a hose, replacement fixed d-ring on a harness rather
than a free to move one, ID stickers etc… Despite this, there were still items
I had purchased but not added to my list. Providing a list of stolen equipment to
the police and insurance company was fairly pain free because of this. If your car was broken into, would you be
able to give an accurate list? Remember to include the cost, a link to the
item online, and photos/proof of ownership. Does your insurance provide adequate cover if it was all stolen?
· …and remember serial numbers. Since the incident I have added a serial
number column to my inventory spreadsheet.
This may sound obvious but trying to find them afterwards… Luckily I was able to obtain serial numbers
for my regulators and cylinders from my servicing sheets however other items
such as dive computers had no record.
·
Label your equipment. As some of you may have observed, I use Dive Signs on all my larger equipment, such a DPV, primary light, DSMBs,
Peli-cases and cylinders. All of my other
equipment such as spools, fins etc… had my initials written on in a paint pen. As you can see from the picture below,
identification on the thief’s Gumtree advert was easy.
Coincidentally, earlier that
month my wife lost her DSMB and reel when diving in Cornwall. It was located and returned all because of
the Dive Signs sticker.
·
Embrace social media. The theft was carried out the evening
before/the morning of a dive trip to Plymouth.
Once I posted my frustration regarding the theft (not only the monetary
value of the equipment, but the potential business loss of trade, and
frustrations of a ruined weekend) I was offered condolences, requests of what
was stolen from other divers/instructors/shops and agency owners so that they
could keep an eye out, along with offers of loan equipment for the weekend. Once I had put together my list, I posted the
key items on Facebook and that post was directly shared 68 times, but indirect
shares reached nearly 200. It was also
posted on various dive forums. Within 15
minutes the equipment had been located on Gumtree, I was receiving numerous
phone calls from friends and complete strangers informing me, and finally a
phone call from an individual who purchased the equipment (prior to realising it
was stolen). To him, and to everyone
else who helped locate my equipment, I offer my sincerest thanks. It just goes to show how close knit the UK
diving community is. And I love it!
What
about the insurance small print?
·
How much is insured? My military insurance only covered £1000 for
vehicle contents, and my home contents was £7000 for vehicle contents, despite my overall coverage
being significantly higher. Both policies would have left
me short. How much is your kit worth and
where do you leave it on an average diving weekend?
·
Where was the equipment stored? My insurance only covered equipment hidden in
the boot of the car (covered up).
Luckily mine was, however my oxygen set and first aid kit was on the
rear passenger seat. Luckily neither was
touched as I may have struggled to claim for these.
·
Physical damage/forced access to the vehicle. Some insurers only cover forceful
entry into a vehicle, however with the rise of key fob cloning my best guess is
that you would be fine. There’s enough
evidence to prove it’s common. Certainly
it appeared to be in my case.
· New for old? Will you get replacement equipment or monetary
value for the current worth?
· Bottom line, CHECK YOUR
SMALL PRINT.
Moving
forward
As I mentioned earlier, I was re-united with most of my equipment following
a return trip to Southampton to collect it from the Gumtree buyer, and the
insurance covered the rest (less excess), including the £750 I paid to the
buyer to get it back. Some may argue why
and I am not prepared to go through the details, but I personally believe it
was the right thing to do. The thief/Gumtree
seller is known to the police and is wanted for questioning on other crimes but
at the time of writing has not been arrested/cannot be found. I have also taken out specific diving
equipment insurance through a specialist (who I’ll not name), which also covers
equipment in transit and left overnight in a vehicle. Are they any good? I hope I won’t need to find out.
Hopefully this blog may get
you to double check your insurance to see if you are covered, or at the very
least, itemise all of your equipment.
Insurance is something we hope we never need, but when you do need it, I
do hope you’re fully covered.
The boring bit!
All opinions expressed in my
articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines;
by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them. This article is for information only and
should not replace proper training.
Safe diving!
Timothy
Gort
BSAC,
PADI and SDI/TDI diver training
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