Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 23 sept 2012:
It’s been a bad week for one young entrepreneur, when it was recently revealed that her catering van was nicked by thieves.
22 year old Penny Blayney, a caterer that left school to start her Munchkings business, was absolutely distraught to find out that her van, valued at £10,000, had been stolen. Worse yet was not only did Ms Blayney have £500 worth of stock within the van, but also had her rent money within the trailer when it was stolen as well!
An incredulous Ms Blayney, a native of Grafton Rise in Herne Bay, lamented that the worst part was that her commercial van insurance policy had lapsed, as she had intended to sell the vehicle and use the proceeds of the sale to help grow her business even further. The determination of the thieves must have been absolutely incredible, according to the 22 year old entrepreneur, as the van had been fitted with several different security measures and would have required a flatbed lorry to make off with the vehicle.
There’s little in the way of evidence regarding the crime so far, except that one of her neighbours reported hearing loud noises one evening, which leads authorities to believe that had been when the theft occurred. The determined Ms Blayney has not been deterred by this setback, continuing to serve her regular customers even as she struggles to find a solution for both her missing van and her sudden lack of rent money for this month!
Honestly, the massive, 14 foot long trailer is a bit hard to miss, considering it’s emblazoned with the ‘Munchkings’ logo on the side. It’ also fitted with a ten-litre tea urn, a microwave, a freezer, not one but two refrigerators, three chip fryers, two hobs, and a 4 foot griddle. Anyone that has seen the vehicle is urged to contact the police at their earliest opportunity, and could spell the difference between the life and death of poor Ms Blayney’s business.
This is, of course, an incredibly tragic way to demonstrate the absolute need for van insurance. Even if you’re not going to take out comprehensive cover on your commercial vehicle, taking out and maintaining third party fire and theft cover is an absolute necessity – and could have led to Ms Blayney having a modicum of protection against the loss of such a massive business investment.