What Do I Do If My Car Is Stolen?
What do I do if my car is stolen? This is a very common question among drivers, and one that not many know how to answer. Therefore, we give you some tips to follow if, unfortunately, you find yourself in this situation.
1. Report car theft
We must report the loss of our car to the police so that the authorities know the situation. In this way, they will be aware that the owner of the car is not involved in possible crimes in which the stolen car has been used.
2. Submit ownership documentation
If your car is stolen, along with the complaint, you must present all the necessary documentation that proves that you are the owner of the vehicle. The most relevant thing in this regard is to go to the police with your ID, driver’s license, car license plate and insurance policy number.
However, if you are not sure of the type of documentation necessary, bring all that you have. On the other hand, it is common for this documentation to be inside the vehicle, so it is lost together with the car itself.
In this case, record it in the complaint. Keep in mind that you should also report any other object that was inside the vehicle when it was stolen, such as child seats, a suitcase, a GPS device or a laptop.
3. Give all the details about the theft
In order for the police to have as much information as possible, we must report all the details related to the theft of the vehicle. Any detail that may be superfluous in your opinion may be of great use to the authorities.
Therefore, if in the days before the robbery you saw someone hanging around the area where you usually park your car, or a vehicle parked in the area that is not known to you, it will be better to report it.
As for the complaint itself, the police will give you a copy of it. In case they don’t remember to do so, be sure to ask for it. This document will be necessary to send it to your insurer.
4. Contact your insurance company
After filing the report with the police, you should contact your insurance agent or your insurance company immediately. In this way, you can suspend the policy until the vehicle is parked, without having to cancel it.
In addition, at this time you can start to find out about the coverage of your insurance in case of theft of the car in case, unfortunately, it does not appear again. Most companies give a period of one month to start managing the compensation they must make for theft. This period is established by whether the vehicle appears.
5. Temporarily deregister the car
Another procedure that you can carry out, this time directly at the offices of the General Directorate of Traffic, will be to temporarily cancel the vehicle by theft. However, when you go to file the complaint, the most usual thing will be for the police to take care of these procedures.
Therefore, it will not be necessary for you to do it yourself, as the authorities will take care of it on your behalf. In any case, it is best to confirm to the police that they have been in charge of processing the temporary withdrawal.
6. Process the indemnities of the insurers
As we have mentioned, most insurance companies establish a period of one month before beginning to process the indemnities. Therefore, if a month has passed and the police have not been able to find your vehicle, it is best to start the necessary procedures.
To carry out these procedures, the normal thing will be to need the report of the theft, the owner’s ID and all the sets of keys you have for the stolen car. By handing over all this to the insurer, you can start claiming compensation.
After this, the insurance company will make a valuation of the vehicle and will determine the amount that will be delivered for the theft of the car. If the car is new and fully insured, you will most likely receive a new vehicle.
On the other hand, if the vehicle is old and did not have full coverage, the insurer will calculate the cost of the model based on its age and a specific amount will be delivered to the owner.
