In a world of social media, digital communications, GPS technology and digital photography, it’s amazing the array of gadgets that often accompany us on our trips away from home, even to the most remote places. So here is a sobering tale.
A long-anticipated caravanning and camping trip was planned to south-west Western Australia. Six weeks of touring around, no bookings, just follow our whims. Bliss! First stop Port Augusta, and a chance to catch up with our daughter and grand-kids.
Just an overnight stop so the van was duly backed into the driveway – we didn’t even need to disconnect from the vehicle. We would be sleeping in the van and heading off first thing next morning, so nothing needed to be unpacked.
Big mistake number 1!
We woke the next morning to find the driver’s side window smashed and everything of value gone.
Everything included:
- 2 cameras
- 2 laptop computers
- 1 tablet computer
- 1 mobile phone
And we were asleep in the van no more than 3 metres away when all this happened! Scary. Normally we never leave valuables in our vehicle overnight but on this occasion, we were slack and paid a heavy price – over $7000.
Well, what now? Ring the police. Ring the insurance company. Surely we are covered for the damage to the vehicle and theft of property.
Big mistake number 2!
Not having the best coverage for the situation. Vehicle insurance covered replacement of the window and contents up to $750, but with a $400 excess.
Our home contents insurance covered gear away from the home up to a value of $2000 – the maximum possible coverage was $5000 but we had not taken that option.
The bottom line – we were about $4000 out of pocket.
So, the lessons were tough, but what have we learnt?
- Take the maximum insurance cover for unspecified contents away from home – we now have the $5000 maximum cover
- If you are travelling with very expensive equipment, maybe a very expensive camera, cover it as a specified item
- Don’t take as much expensive equipment with you
- Don’t leave expensive equipment un-accompanied in a vehicle.
It is very easy to be wise after the event and easy to become a little lax with your security arrangements.
Knowing that 7 other vehicles were broken into that evening was little consolation, although the local glass repairer was doing good business. Apart from the angst that came from the incident, the inconvenience was considerable.
Instead of heading west, it was back home to sort out insurance and replace equipment. The west will have to wait for another day.
But… there was 1 thing we did RIGHT!
All data was backed up to an online backup system. So, although it takes time to set up a new computer with all of your software, at least you know that your valuable files, photos, music and family videos can all be retrieved.
We also had all of the stolen items well documented on our computer, and therefore backed up. An insurance claim is made much easier if you have clear evidence of ownership and value. This is easily done with the following:
- receipts – scan onto the computer so fading is not a problem
- photographs – take photos of all equipment and annotate with make, model and serial number
- instruction manuals – these are a good proof of ownership.
Have you ever experienced this situation? Did having this documentation reduce the pain?
After experiencing camping, and being a boy scout as a child, I developed a love of the outdoors and the outback. I’ve taken every opportunity to travel across the outback through South Australia, the Northern Territory, and down the Western Australian Coast. In more recent times, after becoming an empty nester, I have organised and led many outback trips for family members, friends and acquaintances, to explore some of the more remote places across the country.
We work with lots of different cameras and computer equipment on the road, so I learnt from a young age not to leave anything of value in the vehicle overnight, where I sleep, so does my gear (well at least in the same room). Even when a vehicle is out of sight at lunch, I would take my cameras with me (or park closer). Some policies don’t cover gear left in a vehicle, so be very careful and check your policies. As with anything to do with computers, I have 6 words, back up, back up and back up!
I haven’t had this happen to me (touch wood) but I am VERY conscious of backing up all of my data. We use a centralized storage unit at home which can be accessed online and uploaded/downloaded to. We also keep a backup of that backup and store it offsite in case of a house fire or burglary.
We insure our gear with $10,000 of portable insurance covering camera’s, laptops and tablets throughout the country, as long as the memories can’t be stolen with them, I’m a happy man!