When purchasing van insurance, many van owners don’t realise what an important decision they’re making. The range of policies available are so numerous, that it’s very easy to be seduced by a low cost quote, only to find later on, after an accident or theft, that you will not be able to claim. This is exactly what happened to George Stevenson, a local tradesman in Coventry, who found out that his van insurance policy didn’t cover him when he needed it most.His story begins on Wednesday 5th September, 2007. George woke at normal time - 5am, and set off for work in his 2006 Ford Transit Connect. As he had done for the past three weeks, George drove the five miles to Wolston, a village around five miles east of the city centre. Little did he know that he was being followed.Unbeknownst to many, Coventry is the crime capital of Europe for organised tool theft, with the black market for power tools valued at around £300 billion annually. George was just one of thousands of victims of tool theft in the UK last year. The crimes all have a similar pattern of events - local tradesman are followed to secluded building sites away from CCTV or the prying eyes of the neighbourhood watch, and there they strike when the tradesman least expect it.Parking his white Transit Connect outside of the building site, George left the engine running whilst he got out to unlock the main site gates. He was out of the van for a matter of seconds, but for experienced thieves, this is they need. The thieves crept up to the van, silently opened the doors, and sped away into the West Midlands countryside.Returning to his van moments later, George was horrified to find his van and precious power tools had vanished – a total of £8,000 worth of professional joinery equipment. To a tradesman, tools are like children. ‘It was awful,’ George told the Coventry & Earlsdon Herald, ‘it was like losing a family member.’It was only when George called his insurance company that things became even worse. The tools had been stolen whilst the keys were still in the ignition – voiding his insurance claim – despite the additional payments George has made to cover his beloved equipment.
By: Gerard McIntyre
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
The moral of this story is to check the Terms and Conditions of any policy. Some insurers are better than others at making this information available. For example, Quote Me Today van insurance makes it very simple to view the terms and conditions before you take out a policy.
