Stolen tires and rims are only covered by your car insurance policy if you have the appropriate coverage. To put it another way, if you simply have the minimal liability coverage allowed by your state, you are only insured for physical harm, property damage, and personal injury protection. Rims and tires are usually covered under comprehensive car insurance.
It’s understandable that if you’ve spent a lot of money on custom tires and rims, you’ll want to be sure they’re covered by your insurance. This is especially true in cities where car theft is prevalent. An expert crew of thieves can get your car jacked up and the tires off without anyone noticing in no time. As a result, certain car manufacturers now include specific wheel locks that must be removed using a modified wrench head.
You’ll need at least some comprehensive coverage to have your rims and tires insured after a theft. Outside of the realm of traffic accidents, comprehensive insurance covers any repair or replacement costs. Collision coverage, to put it another way, pays for damage caused by an accident. The majority of other issues are taken care of by comprehensive coverage. We say “most” since comprehensive coverage varies greatly between policies.
In most cases, comprehensive coverage will cover stolen tires and rims. That isn’t always the case, though. To cover such things, additional fire and theft coverage may be required. To learn out what you’re insured against, you’ll need to study your policy details and maybe chat with a representative.
If your tires and rims are stolen and your comprehensive coverage does not cover them, you may want to look into your homeowners or renters insurance. Tires and rims are sometimes treated like any other form of stolen property, and policies will pay for them.
Without a doubt, you must file a police complaint outlining the theft if you expect your car insurance company to replace your stolen tires and rims. Otherwise, drivers could make any claim they wanted only to get a cheque from their insurance company. The only way for the insurance company to validate your claim is through the police record. While it is feasible to create a fraudulent police complaint, if you are found, you could face prison time. That danger, if you’re like most Americans, isn’t worth it.
Keep in mind that filing a timely police report will help you settle a claim with your insurance carrier swiftly. There is likely to be little debate in selling your claim if you notice the theft within a few hours and quickly report it to the police. However, if you wait a few days, or even weeks, the insurance company and the police will both suspect the purported theft. In this case, you may have a harder time persuading your insurance company to accept your claim.
You won’t be required to present a receipt if your factory tires and rims are stolen. Your insurance company will simply reimburse you based on the current market worth of the parts. If you’re talking about special tires and rims that you added afterwards, you’ll have to show documents to back up your claim.
Without receipts, the insurance company has no means of knowing if you’re telling the truth, just like the police report. In an attempt to scam them, you could basically tell them anything.
If you buy custom rims and tires, you must keep your receipts for as long as the tires and rims are on your vehicle. Even if you buy a secondhand automobile from someone who has already installed custom tires and rims, you should receive a receipt from the seller. If this isn’t possible because the previous owner didn’t save the receipts, you might be able to get them covered if your insurance provider will accept an image of the car and a copy of the bill of sale.
The amount you get for stolen tires and rims is determined by the type of coverage or policy you have. Most insurance companies will pay replacement value and provide a cheque to cover the cost of replacing the stolen tires and rims with identical or similar models. If the stolen objects are older than a couple of years, they may involve depreciation.
If your comprehensive coverage covers full value replacement, on the other hand, your insurance provider should cover the full cost of replacement up front.
If you disagree with your insurance company’s evaluation, don’t accept a settlement or cash a check until you’ve looked into your other choices. You can ask the state insurance department to intervene on your behalf in some states. In some places, you may need to hire an attorney to represent you. If you believe your tires and rims are undervalued, you have the legal right to question your insurance company’s evaluation.
Can you claim tires on insurance?
Tire warranties, specialty tire insurance, and a tire protection plan that covers natural wear and tear on your tires are not included in most auto insurance policies. However, depending on which state you live in, the extra coverages listed below may protect your tires and wheels against damage caused by potholes, vandalism, and other mishaps:
- Comprehensive coverage: This coverage protects your car from damage caused by events other than an accident. Flood, hail, theft, and vandalism are all examples of damage. Comprehensive automobile insurance coverage will pay for damage caused by a tree puncturing a tire or a vandal slashing your tires during a heavy storm.
- Collision coverage protects you against damage to your vehicle as a result of an accident. If your tires are damaged as a result of a collision with another vehicle, you can file a claim under your collision policy to help pay for their repair or replacement.
If you want more security for your tires, talk to a tire dealer about a tire protection plan. Retailers frequently provide protection plans that cover normal wear and tear for a set number of years or miles, as well as damage caused by road hazards such as nails. It’s a good idea to shop about for a plan and compare the extra cost against the coverage provided, just as with insurance.
How do I stop someone from stealing my tires?
Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Tires from Thieves
- To make it more difficult to reach your tires, turn your wheels to a 45-degree angle.
Does insurance only cover 4 tires?
Yes, three slashed tires, or any number of slashed tires, whether one or four, are covered under your comprehensive coverage. It’s a common fallacy that insurance companies won’t cover three cut tires and that the automobile owner would have to file a claim for all four. That, however, is not the case.
Is it easy to steal tires?
According to Geico, criminals steal tires for one simple reason: they’re easy to steal. It doesn’t take long for someone to steal a car’s tires. “A jack and a battery-operated toolan impact wrench with a lot of torquecan tear off a set of wheels in 10 minutes,” according to Geico. To make this even more efficient, people sometimes work in groups; they jack up the entire automobile at once, then remove the tires two or even four at a time. Anything that is easy to steal and worth a reasonable amount of money is vulnerable to theft.
This leads to yet another reason why thieves target tires: they’re valuable. People are usually on the lookout for good tire prices. People often sell tires they don’t need on social media or websites like Craislist, in addition to buying them on ebay or other websites. This allows someone who has stolen tires to sell them without drawing attention to themselves.
How do you slash tires?
To quickly cut a tire, you’ll need a sharp knife rather than a common kitchen knife. If you use enough force, a knife can easily puncture the rubber surface. In a matter of seconds, a real knife slice will flatten the tire.
How much is a set of 4 tires?
The first question that comes to mind when replacing a tire, whether it’s one or all four, is how much money you’ll have to spend.
The answer is that it is debatable. Tire prices are all over the place and vary greatly based on size, quality, and brand.
“It absolutely varies depending on size and whether it’s an economy tire, a midlevel, do-it-all tire, or a high-performance tire,” said Tim Haynes of Norwood, Mass.-based Direct Tire & Auto.
The average cost of a new tire, according to Chris Pfefferle, president of Pfefferle Tire & Automotive Service in Fairfield, Ohio, is around $100 for a regular car, $175 for an SUV, and $200 for a pickup truck. According to him, the low-to-high range for a typical car is around $70 to $150.
According to Haynes, a set of four tires can cost anywhere from $400 to $1,800 or more. According to him, the cost of replacing a single tire ranges from $100 to $300, with a tire on a regular car costing around $125 and tires for pickup trucks and SUVs costing $200 or more.
Angie’s List members report paying an average of $637 to replace four tires, with a range of $525 to $725, according to recent reviews.
A normal all-season tire costs between $50 and $200 per, with an average price of $80 to $150, according to CostHelper.
Drivers should expect to pay $50 to $350 for a pickup truck or SUV, with an average cost of $100 to $250.
The cost of new tires is determined by a number of factors, including the tire’s brand and size.
A typical passenger car has 16 to 18-inch tires, whereas a truck can have tires up to 20 inches, according to Haynes.
“Consumers should understand that size has a significant impact on price,” Pfefferle added. “If a customer has a 15-inch tire, they can usually obtain an excellent one for $125. If they offer a 20-inch tire, it will almost certainly cost twice as much as a high-quality tire. Tire prices have risen, and the more specialized the vehicle, the more expensive the tires are normally.”
Brand played a huge effect in overall pricing, according to Randal Regan, service writer at Marc Yount’s Tire Pros in Evans, Ga.
“The more money they spend on R&D, the more money you pay for the tire,” he explained. “However, it’s typically a better tire.”
“Vehicles are basically designed around the tires that people choose to put on them,” he explained, “and the more high-end the vehicle, the more expensive the tire.”
“Low-cost tires have low-quality rubber,” Haynes explained. “They aren’t getting the most out of their fuel economy and handling. If you buy more high-quality tires, you’ll get a lot more bang for your dollars.”
Snow tires can cost anywhere from $60 to $550, according to CostHelper, while summer tires for luxury or sports cars might cost anywhere from $100 to $1,400.
What’s the easiest car to steal?
Ford pickups are a fantastic target for a burglar because they are notoriously easy to break into and highly sought-after on the black market for parts and full automobiles. Ford pickup theft rates have increased by 3.6 percent since last year.
How much is a tire lock key?
It’s possible that you’ll have to order a new one from the dealer or manufacturer. You’ll need the code that matches to your specific key to achieve this. You should anticipate to pay anywhere from $20 to $120 per set. The key code for your wheel locks may normally be found in the owner’s manual if they came with the car.
Why do people slash tires?
Cutting the tire surface to deflate it is referred to as slashing. The majority of the time, it is a deliberate act designed to limit movement. To settle a score, some people may do this to your wheels. Another purpose to slash is to address a tire issue, such as an underinflated tire. In this situation, it’s a last-ditch effort to avoid a blowout.
You could potentially have damaged wheels as a result of improper driving. When you drive over a fence or through an area containing sharp things, for example. Is it against the law to slash tires? Slashing tires is a kind of vandalism that is treated as a misdemeanor by the courts. The culprit will be fined, or if they are a repeat offender, they will be sentenced to prison.
Does Geico cover nail in tire?
The GEICO mobile app and roadside help go together like macaroni and cheese. It simply works.
With roadside assistance, you can rest confident that GEICO is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist you. We’re only a few taps away on the GEICO mobile app, whether it’s a dead battery, a nail in a tire, or an empty gas tank. It’s just one of the ways we’re making insurance more accessible.