Sadly I think this has happened to most of us over the years which is why most insurance companies won’t cover kit left in the back of a car.
My friend via Facebook Keith Jacobsen had his car broken into in a so called “Secure Carpark” in London.
Keith “London, you absolute shower of shite. Secure car park, my arse. 45 minutes I was away… if you get offered any Litepanels Astra6X, Litepanels Calibers, AntonBauer Titon batteries, DJI Drone and Samyang Prime Lenses, they’re probably mine. Bastards. Utter utter bastards.”
“It wasn’t on show – I’ve been doing this for 30 odd years and have never had kit nicked. Limo black windows with additional black plexiglass behind the auto glass. It was no opportunist smash and grab and the security guard just happened to be “on a break” when the incident happened.”
The same thing happened to me 25 years ago and the car was parked in my own driveway and in an enclosed boot.
Dont leave kit in your car or hire someone to stay in your car if you are only away for a short time £20 is worth an hour of someones time to wait in your car. The other trick I used was to cover my kit with a black cloth making it less obvious there was anything in the back of my car.
A reply from Dean…
I carry a lot of gear with me when I’m teaching in remote locations globally. This kind of insurance cost me $100 per year US. I had my car broken into and my 2 laptops stolen out of the back in a bag. They paid for the bag the two laptops at the replacement cost. Inland marine is the only insurance that covers your stuff while in transit. It specifically does not cover mobile phones. Good luck I hope this helps
Limo black windows, with an additional pure black plexiglass behind the car glass. This was no smash and grab and the security guard was conveniently on a break when it happened. The whole point of parking here was that it is advertised as “Secure Parking”. Last shot of the day, that was all we needed – I wanted to park on a meter in the street but the producer insisted we park securely.
At the end of the day, it’s just stuff. My kit insurer is brilliant and has processed everything already. The car insurer however is a pain… they actually have the claim as a “my fault” incident as I, and I quote, “left the vehicle unattended”… I shit you not!
Avoid Q-Parks China Town/Shaftsbury Avenue and don’t pass business to Esure.