Luggage stolen from locked rental car in Orlando
 

Is the theft of luggage from a locked rental car (during dinner at a local resteraunt, enroute to hotel) reimburseable under any conditions. Thieves drilled hole thru lock and stole bags with cell phones, IPods, Kindle, chargres, some cash,etc,.while car was parked in front of resteraunt.around 8 pm

You may be able to recover something from your homeowner's insurance, otherwise, not sure who you would expect to be responsible for third party's criminal acts.

You would have to check with the insurance of your choice (either through the rental agency, credit card or your own auto insurance). Budget has insurance you can purchase which covers theft from vehicles in certain cases, not sure what other companies have or if personal auto insurance has coverage for your situation.

Did you report this to the police and the rental agency?

Did you leave any of the stolen items in plain sight? Check your rental agreement's boilerplate about that.

Are we talking the trunk? Or these bags were just left sitting visible inside the car?

Wow that must have been an awful discovery upon exiting the restaurant. A real vacation downer to be sure.

1. Rental car insurance fine print.
2. Credit card insurance
3. Homeowners insurance (most likely) though they sometimes do not cover jewelry or electronics. Call your agent or company.

Sorry for your loss. Does interrupt the vacation, doesn't it?

If you own a car, wouldn't your own auto insurance be a possibility as well?

Do the car rental agencies still have stickers on their cars showing that they are rental cars?

Why would you leave your cell phones in your luggage?

I thought that the rental companies no longer put those stickers on their cars, but thieves may know another way to identify a rental. Or they got lucky.

<<<wouldn't your own auto insurance be a possibility as well>>>

I'm fairly certain auto insurance doesn't cover theft FROM the auto (as opposed to theft OF the auto)

Nothing whatsoever is reimbursable unless you have insurance. So that's question number one. Home owner's policies often cover this kind of theft, as do some policies offered by car-rental companies (but you have to buy them, and the typical loss-damage waiver does not, though it would cover the damage done to a rental car by the thieves).

What auto and home policies cover differs wildly and insanely from state to state.

I won't bore you with the dozen or so examples I could think of.

A random bunch of strangers, however brilliant we are (and we are!) won't be as useful as a ten minute talk with their insurance agent. This is what you pay them for.

Are there any video cameras outside the restaurant that may have recorded the encounter?

Definitely get a police report to submit to any insurance.

Agree:

1) police report or you will get nothing from anyone

2) look into the insurance policies you have - homeowners most likely - but check your deductible and what is NOT covered (hardly every jewelry or cash, often not small electronics)

Thanks to all for your replies and suggestions. The most important thing is that nobody was hurt. Everything else is replaceable.

I believe the modus operandi of these thieves is to sit in resteraunt parking lots in Orlando and watch for SUV's full of luggage which indicates that these are vacationers on their way from the airport to their hotels, just stopping for a bite. Everyone is just anxious to get there and certainly not thinking of anything bad happening. They know that the electronics are in the kids' backpacks, and that't what they are targeting. Drilling thru the lock appears to be one of the latest modes of entry, so nothing is safe anymore.

As someone who travels seasonally between states, I hate to read this!!

Homeowners insurance covers those items that are not normally a part of the car (the determining factor in which coverage applies, HO or auto). Unfortunately, it is subject to your HO deductible and there must be signs of forced entry, which you obviously have. What a bummer under any circumstances!

Another good reason to keep your luggage out of sight. SUV rentals are tough because they often take out those tonneau covers you can use to cover the rear cargo area.

If any of your items were recent purchases on your cc you might be able to claim. DD had an IPAD stolen out of her backpack in Spain and her gold cc covered it..There is a statute of limitations however..Worth a check out!!