Unfortunately I am now able to count myself as a victim of crime. The weekend before last some lovely people decided their evening was not exciting enough and so broke into my car by smashing the window and taking my bag. Similarly on Friday I had a call from a client who had some tools stolen from his van whilst locked and in a car park. The fact that these crimes were committed in areas where the public are also freely going about their business is testiment to the brazeness of criminals. Luckily for me there was nothing valuable in the bag and my glass excess for the smashed window is only £50 but for our client who had their van broken into a significant value was taken.Insurance is only part of the answer and to minimise the impact of a loss like this we would encourage you to keep an inventory of your tools and equipment along with proof of purchase. This will ultimately mean that any claims process is speeded up as all the required information is there. Similarly be aware of where you could obtain these items again so as to ensure that you are back on your feet, trading as soon as posisble. We won’t just sell you a piece of paper saying that you’re covered but we will go that extra mile and assist you in building a plan around your policy so that you have the peace of mind knowing that, if you experience a loss of any kind you will have as little interruption to your business as possible.

That being said often prevention is better than cure and so please follow these bullet points to ensure that you don’t make your possessions attractive to theives.

• Ensure your vehicle is not parked in an icolated position.
• Try and park somewhere you can keep your eye on the vehicle or as close to where you are going to be as possible.
• If possible park in a public place or in the arc of a CCTV camera.
• Ensure all windows are secure and doors are locked.
• Ensure your vehicle is alarmed and that it is functioning.
• Remove any personal possessions from view (even if of no value).
• Any wires or leads which might suggest your vehicle contains phones or satnavs should be put away.
• Clean the inside of the windscreen to remove any marks left by a satnav.
• If you can, take items such as satnavs with you when you leave a vehicle.

Alistair