Are You Liable if You Don’t Lock Your Car?
Thanks to key remotes, locking your car is almost a reflex. Hearing that double beep as you walk away is satisfyingly reassuring. But what happens when you do forget to punch that little button? If someone steals things from your unlocked car, or worse, steals the car itself, are you liable?
According to Lieutenant Michael McCarthy of the Boston Police Department, police don’t determine fault in these cases, so the short answer is that it depends on your insurance policy.
When it comes to theft of the actual vehicle, comprehensive or universal plans keep you covered.
“You wouldn’t be at fault. It’s universal, so it’s consistent coverage across situations. And across states’’ said one GEICO sales representative.
This is also the case with many other major insurance providers like Liberty Mutual and Amica. So, while you may want to yell at your past self who swore, “I’ll only be a minute!’’ the good news is that if you have comprehensive coverage, you’re not completely out of luck.
The same conditionality holds with property theft from an unlocked car. This isn’t usually covered by auto insurance, but may instead be provided for under homeowners or rental policies. Read carefully, however, because some policies include a clause that undercuts the provider’s responsibility if the driver behaves in a manner that “increases the risk of theft’’ (like leaving it unlocked).
If you don’t have other insurance, you’re probably going to have to drop a few hundred dollars to replace that GPS that you ALWAYS keep in the center console…well…except for this one time.
Though the statistics are fairly level across Boston, McCarthy indicated that the B-2 (Roxbury) and D-4 (South End) districts have the highest rate of incident.
So far this year, 1,493 auto thefts have been reported in Boston, a 7% decrease from 2013. Trailing behind Boston, Springfield reported 760 motor vehicle thefts in 2013, according to FBI data, while Lawrence reported 686 and Worcester reported 465.
Though auto theft isn’t always avoidable, you can take certain precautions. In addition to keeping electronics out of sight, resist the urge to leave your car idling outside this winter.
“We tend to see increases in thefts with the weather getting colder. Cars being warmed up outside with keys in them are an attractive target for thieves,’’ said McCarthy.
Better to have a freezing cold car seat than no car seat at all, right?
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