Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Are My Golf Clubs Covered Under My Homeowners Policy?

By: Edward L. Blais, JD, CIC

In recent years, annual golf equipment thefts have exceeded beyond two hundred million dollars annually. Fortunately for most, reimbursement for theft or damage to golf clubs is covered under their homeowner’s insurance policy – but is the coverage you have enough to replace them?  Your clubs, as well as all other very mobile personal property items of significant value, are highly susceptible to theft. 

But with your golf clubs - perhaps more so than other items, owing to their nature and use and further complicated by the fact that we tend to keep them in the trunk of our car - the chances are very good that they won’t be stolen from your home.  If your car is stolen and your clubs were in the trunk, your clubs were just stolen too. Or if your car is involved in an accident, chances are good that the clubs were damaged too.  You need make sure that the coverage you have for your clubs is the coverage you need for them – prior to the loss.  At loss time, when you need it, it is too late to get any more of it.

Once you have the proper coverage in place, and to better avoid losses involving your golf clubs, here are some often overlooked easy tips you may want to follow:
  • Immediately after finishing, count your clubs and place them into the trunk of your car. If you have left a club on the course, your chances of recovering it are much better the sooner you identify and report it missing to course personnel.
  • Park in a locked garage or monitored area.  Even better is to remove your clubs from your trunk once you arrive at your home or wherever you are staying.
  • When traveling, attach your name and address to both your travel cover and golf bag
When you purchase new clubs, be sure to keep the receipts or purchase records to expedite the process of filing a claim. Blais Insurance is happy to discuss the details of your homeowner’s insurance policy to see if you are properly covered. Call us today at 401-725-0070 to learn more.