Is your property protected if someone breaks into your car? - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

If a crook breaks into your vehicle, auto insurance covers all the losses, right? Not necessarily. If personal items are stolen from inside your vehicle, car insurance will not cover you-you'll need to file a home insurance claim to recoup your losses.

Here's how it works: The comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy covers theft of items that are permanently built into the vehicle, like a car stereo or GPS device. Damage to the vehicle itself, including glass breakage, is also covered by auto insurance. What auto insurance won't cover, however, is theft of personal items from your vehicle.

That's where home insurance comes into play.

Home insurance will cover the theft of items that aren't part of the vehicle itself, like cell phones, purses and baseball equipment. If your policy includes off premises theft coverage, your items will be covered even if your car isn't parked at home.  

What Auto Insurance Covers:

• Car Stereo
• Built-in GPS

What Home Insurance Covers:

• CDs
• Golf clubs
• Cell phone
• Child's car seat

Where it gets tricky, though, is when your car is stolen. The comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy will cover your stolen vehicle, but how about your personal items? Will you need to file an auto and home insurance claim to recover both your vehicle and possessions?

As Corey Schneider of Sentinel Financial Solutions explains, it depends on the insurer. "Some carriers view this as two losses, and you'll need to file two claims and pay two separate deductibles," he said. "Other carriers will judge it a ‘companion' claim and view it as a single loss, only charging you one deductible. This is where quality carriers really shine."

This article is provided by InsWeb Corp. If your insurer doesn't offer companion claims, compare free quotes with InsWeb.com and search for a carrier that does. It could save you a small fortune down the road.