Jun. '01
“I sure hope you have that insured.” I usually ask that when a customer tells me about how his gear was stolen from his house. Now dealing with insurance companies and placing claims can be a bear. But there are things you can do to make it easier to get some money to replace your tackle. First, be sure to check your homeowner’s policy and see what is covered and what isn’t. If your personal property is covered find out if it is covered for its full value, replacement value or just a set value, i.e. 1,000.00. Most anglers have several thousand dollars of equipment but most insurance companies will find that difficult to understand.
Keep detailed records. Use a video camera and take a video record of what you have. Update the video every time you add an item to your collection. Also keep you paper receipts for your purchases in a detailed log. This is a ton of work but it will help you get the most out of your insurance company. Most insurance companies will fight you on everything you have listed but if you have all the paperwork you can fight back.
While on the subject of lost gear, most airports do not check baggage claim tags. What this means is anyone can walk away with your gear. Airlines find it is more cost effective to pay claims than to hire some one to check baggage tags.
Hopefully you will never have your gear stolen while traveling. If it does happen, I hope it happens while traveling on a domestic flight and not an international flight. When you check airline insurance policies you will see that domestic flight and lost baggage is covered for a higher value than international flights.
Another place where tackle will disappear will be in the parking lot before and after your long-range trip. There are people who will show up at the wharf and take advantage of people that are too busy to pay attention to their gear. Now don’t let this keep you from taking a trip just use a little common sense. Remember to never leave your tackle un-attended is all you have to do.
If you have an enclosed truck or a van, just keep your gear locked up until it is time to load it on the boat. If not have a friend or family member keep an eye on your gear if you are busy doing other things. That’s all that you have to do. Once your gear is either in the landing’s office or on board the boat it is very safe.
So take a few precautions and you will have piece of mind. Hopefully never have a tackle worries and only have to worry about losing fish.