Stolen property, or damages associated with a theft or burglary, might be covered by your property insurance policy. In fact, the majority of Florida homeowners’ insurance policies contain some level of coverage for theft-related damage. Ultimately, it always depends on the specific terms of your individual policy. If you have recently been the victim of a theft or burglary, and you have questions about your insurance coverage, or if you are currently involved in a property insurance dispute related to these issues, please do not hesitate to contact our office today to learn more about your rights and legal options.
Stolen Items: What is Covered?
Determining the answer to this question will require a comprehensive review of your insurance policy. It is possible that the full extent of your theft-related damage will be covered. On the other hand, your policy may not cover the full value of all common household items. Further, many insurance policies do not cover damage for the theft of certain high value items. For example, if you own diamonds, gold, high value art pieces, and other types of luxury goods, you should review your policy to ensure that you have coverage for those items. In many cases, you may need to purchase a supplement insurance policy to get coverage. Supplemental policies will typically assign a pre-selected insurance value for covered luxury items.
How to Prove Your Theft-Related Damages
The vast majority of Florida insurance policies will require you to file an official police report before seeking compensation for theft-related damages. As with all insurance claims, you will need to prove the full extent of your losses in order maximize your recovery. This can sometimes be difficult in stolen goods cases. Unfortunately, theft victims are often viewed with an unjustified skepticism by the insurance company. This makes carefully preparing your claim and thoroughly documenting your damage even more important. Your policy will likely specify some of the documents that can help prove theft-related losses. In general, relevant evidence includes:
- Receipts or other financial records;
- Photographs of your items;
- Written estimates and sworn statements; and
- Anything else you can use to demonstrate your losses.
Further, it is likely that your insurance company will instruct you to submit a signed affidavit confirming that your claims of theft losses are legitimate. Ideally, you will have access to your receipts, as this will make the claims process easier. However, for many Florida homeowners, recovering those kind of records is simply no longer possible. If you are having any difficulty establishing the full value of your theft losses or damages, an experienced property insurance attorney can help.
Contact Our Office Today
At Geyer Fuxa Tyler, our Florida property insurance attorneys have experience helping Florida homeowners, condo owners, and business owners through disputes with their insurance company. We will work hard to help you get the fair insurance settlement you deserve. You can contact our Sunrise office today at (954) 990-5251 to schedule a free review of your case. Our team serves clients throughout the region, including in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.
