Tech tool insurance

[flyboy]

Our area has been hit pretty hard in recent months, thieves are breaking into shops, busting the locks on tool boxes and dumping techs tools into carts or trash cans and wheeling them out.

I want to find a means of protecting my techs tools, and wondered if anybody offers this as an incentive for employment, and who they go thru. I am not having any success with general insurance companies.

Any ideas?

[AKTOYPM]

Get some security cameras, stickers for all the doors and windows and self insure?
Maybe try a hole in on einsurance company that goes through Llodys of London?

[robc]

Huh, that is strange you can't find it because I am pretty sure Universal Underwriters has a rider for tech tools. I wouldn't recommend self insurance because if 10 boxes at just $20,000 would be $200,000 and the bigger part is business interruption for a covered event. Who is going to cover the few days of lost work until the techs get tools?

I would think most shops go with the company that carries their garage keepers liability insurance, even if it is a few bucks more.

[fburrows]

We bought the coverage from Universal Underwriters now Zurich. You will have to survey each technician, to get a valuation of his or her tools and come up with a total. If you have 200,000 of tools and only 100,000 worth of insurance they can say in the event of a loss that you are only insured for 50% and that is all they will pay. I think this concept is called co-insurance.

Another thing we did was to photograph each drawer of their boxes to help with creating an inventory in case of a loss. Stealing technicians tools has occurred in the past and it certainly can happen.

I think it is important for the dealership to carry this insurance. It is not expensive and almost impossible for the individual technician to obtain. If there is a big loss it will surely put you out of business until they get new tools and I guarantee they will be looking to the dealership to make them whole.


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Frank Burrows
fburrows@absdata.com