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Your car is gone. Your heart jumps into your stomach. A million things run through your head. Maybe you parked on the next block over? Maybe you were only towed? What if it was stolen?

In 1998, the Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau reported more than 165,000 vehicles were stolen in Canada. That's one car every 3 minutes.

When cars are stolen, personal items in the car are rarely recovered. Even if the car is found, your stuff is usually gone. Your auto insurance policy covers you for the damage or loss of your vehicle - not the items inside. Wallets, CDs, laptops, sports equipment, sunglasses are all considered "property" in the insurance world.

So what happens to your belongings inside the car if it's stolen?
What if you don't own a home? Can you still get property insurance?

So what happens to your belongings inside the car if it's stolen?
If you don't have property insurance, then you are responsible for replacing any items in the car on your own.

If you do have home insurance, you end up making two claims - one on your auto policy for the loss of the car and one on your property policy for all your personal items. Since this counts as two claims, you might want to evaluate the cost of your belongings to see if they are worth the risk of having an extra claim on your record.

If you have both your car and your home insured with us, we will only make you pay one of the deductibles. If one of your policies has a higher deductible than the other, you'll have to pay the higher one.

What if you don't own a home? Can you still get property insurance?
Definitely! In fact, everyone should have property insurance. It doesn't matter if you don't live in a house. Condo owners and people who are renting can still get property insurance for their belongings inside their home.

See the article "The not so obvious reasons renters need tenants insurance" for more information.