Here at CVI, we are sure you’ve heard ad infinitim about the risk of keeping tools in your vehicle. We know our readers are generally a pretty smart and savvy bunch, and so those of you who do carry tools, are, we are sure, know to display all the warnings, such as one of those stickers saying ‘no tools left in the van overnight.’
And it’s a good job you’re cautious, too While we know that tool theft was a thing (incidentally, catalytic converter theft is also on the up), did you know that tools are actually stolen from the vans of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland a shocking once every 20 minutes?
20 minutes?
That is a ridiculous number of tools to be going AWOL each year.
According to research, tools went AWOL from vehicles 28.681 times last year. And that is just the thefts that were reported, so we can only imagine what that tally may be when you included the ones that didn’t even get reported.
That equates to 78 incidents of tool theft every single day of the year.
Of those thefts that were reported, the majority happened in London, followed by the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside. A whopping 4,400 crimes were reported in Lancashire alone last year.
This just goes to show how important a great van insurance policy is. If you don’t have your tools covered, you can wave goodbye to that job – and that’s something none of us can do with as things stand with the uncertainty of a winter of coronavirus approaching.
Of course, personal responsibility also plays a part, and ensuring tools are well secured inside the vehicle, that the van is kept locked and well supervised can all help to reduce incidents of told theft from vans.
The good news is that some instance companies are now offering specialist tools insurance for van insurance policies, some even offering full replacement of any stolen tools within 24 hours – so there is no waving goodbye to those jobs you’ve got lined up, after all.
To stop the chances of it happening, here’s our advice:
- Leave your van where you can see it – on site, if possible
- Always lock it between trips to load and unload
- Make sure you have a sticker advising you don’t leave your tools in there overnight and that your van is alarmed – it’s always worth deterring them from trying
- Make sure you have lockable storage inside your van that is fixed to the vehicle – there are some great storage cages which can prove worth every penny
- If you have safe overnight storage for your tools – use it!
- Try and park the van somewhere secure overnight
We can’t guarantee you won’t get your tools nicked, but you can do your bot to try and prevent it from happening. After all, it’s another insurance claim that nobody needs to make….