Vehicle Break-ins in Denver

If you're the type that keeps a camera in your car at all times, take extra precaution. The recent storms (and abandoned cars) have led to a wave of car break-ins in several parts of Denver. I saw cars from several parking lots within a 5 mile radius of my house (near Denver U) with smashed windows. When I returned home, I found out that my car had also been hit (smashed windows, broken locks, destroyed dash, pryed cd player, 2K of damage/theft). Now might also be a good time to consider an insurance policy for camera gear.

Scott, I'm really sorry to hear about the break-in to your vehicle. Ugh! It sounds a bit like Albania in the early days after the fall of communism. We'd have to keep our vehicles under constant watch. You just turned your back and it would be cleaned of everything including windshield and wheels. Fortunately, we could usually buy most things back from a street vendor down the road selling exactly what we lost. Imagine that! That probably was a lot easier than dealing with US insurance companies like you are having to do.

We'll they didn't take my windshield and wheels, so I guess it's not that bad. But like you said, I would rather deal with a street vendor than a US insurance company. At least with the street vendor you get what you pay for. Thanks for the perspective Erik. Last year I posted a guide to safe living/traveling with camera gear. I'll have to go take a look at that again.

Sorry to hear of the damage to your vehicle Scott. Sadly, it doesn't seem to take much of an event for some in society to lose control. Most homeowners insurance should cover loss of equipment from your vehicle (non commercial photography), but you need to verify this with your agent - as well as confirm the deductable amount. With the price of digital gear, its an imortant precaution.

For those who shoot commercially, homeowners insurance doesn't typically cover your loss. I'm using NANPA's "all risk" insurance program, which costs me $1.75 per $100 value annually. This is good worldwide, by the way - a feature many other commercial insurers don't do. This is just one benefit of joining NANPA. The few hundred per year I pay goes a long way towards maintaining my sanity!

Ken

I too have noticed the rash of vehicle break ins and part thefts in SE Denver. In the last 3 weeks I have seen roughly 6 cars in my area with stolen wheels. Its too bad really. Just another reason not the leave your camera gear in the car.

Scott, sorry to hear about the damage. Been there, done that with my son's car in Denver - twice. We've certainly noticed the car theft/breakins in the Denver metro area have gone way up in the last few years. The sad thing is the amount of damage these guys do for what I'm sure is VERY little profit. Our repair bills were $5,000 and $4.000. All they got were some tires and rims. Totally senseless.

If anyone is relying on homeowner's insurance to cover their camera gear, be sure to know your deductable.

I should clarify that my camera stuff did not get stolen. However, I know that some people keep their gear in their vehicle to make sure that they have it when opportunity knocks. I have an itemized policy for my camera gear should anything happen. Bill, I agree with you about the terrible risk/reward scenario. The theif that hit my car was after my $200 cd player and caused 2K in damage. The idiot failed to steal the cd player, but damaged it beyond repair and left the face plate sitting on my seat. So basicly, they risked jail time, a criminal record and an appointment with my ice axe for absolutely nothing. Senseless indeed.

Hey thanks for connecting me to this link Scott...alas I'm in the Denver area and got hit in November...under different circumstances. This looks like a cool place to exchange information and meet new people. Great!

Welcome Art. You may want to introduce yourself in the "Introduce Yourself" thread at the top of the forum. Enjoy your stay.

Scott, I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through this. My vehicle was broken into twice in 24 hours when I lived in San Antonio, Texas. The first time they got all my camera gear, there wasn't anything left in the car on the return trip. I went through 3 break-ins in 5 years of living there and my wife had the sunroof stolen from her vehicle as well.