# Next time, STEAL SOMETHING! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056 "2001-05-02T07:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/21 "2001-05-03T04:51:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > We have a renters insurance policy for $50,000 and I’m pretty sure I could more than replace everything with that. > > I think you’re unclear on how insurance works. Your insurance company is **not** going to give you $50,000 if your stuff gets stolen; $50,000 is merely the upper limit of what they’ll pay. The amount you actually receive is based on what you paid for the stolen items, minus depreciation. \*\* My wife works for State Farm and wrote the policy. The amount of insurance is based on the appraised value of everything in the house, which is actually higher than what we paid for most of it, especially on the computers that I had built for me. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/22 "2001-05-03T09:10:45Z")
On the topic of insurance: you should all read your policies! That’s what they are there for. The answer is that policies can be on a new-for-old **or** a value basis - both are pretty much equally common - and only your document can answer the question as to which you have. While I’m on the subject - beware too the perils of _underinsurance_. This is where your sum insured is less than the true value of the contents. If this happens then strictly speaking the insurer is allowed to refuse to give you anything. In practice they will scale down their payment proportionally. For example if you insure a value of $10,000 but the contents turn out to actually be worth $20,000 then if you claim for $1000 you’ll only get $500. This in known as **average** and is pretty common. pan ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/23 "2001-05-03T13:07:06Z")
Hey **Audrey** - Here’s another thought. Maybe they broke in to install some cameras. You know, the remote kind that are smaller than a tube of lipstick? Yeah, remote controlled lipstick cameras. You can put those things anywhere- Shower, bedroom, light socket… You name it! Maybe stealing the CD’s and the petty cash was simply a diversion to their real intended crime? Have a nice day! ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/24 "2001-05-04T00:36:15Z")
**Cnote** , I like the way you think. I already asked her about that via ICQ. [sub]I mean, hey, _I_ would’ve done it.[/sub] Anyway, **Audrey** , I’ll get to work on helping you replace some of the, um, items. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/25 "2001-05-04T00:55:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > \*\*You can put those things anywhere- Shower, bedroom, light socket… You name it! \*\* So what else have you been up to lately, hon? ::ducks:: > [@](#): > > \*\* > Have a nice day!\*\* Thanks. -sticks tongue at **Cnote** - **KK** - thank you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/26 "2001-05-04T00:57:14Z")
As far as somebody breaking in and stealing nothing, it’s happened to me (sort of) twice! First time: working overnight for H&R Block, came out in the morning and found the rear window of my car busted out. The glove box had been opened and rifled, but nothing was stolen. The really irritating thing was that the car wasn’t locked! Second time: couple weeks ago, stopped at a jiffy store to pick up smokes, and left my keys in the car. You guessed it, it was gone when I came out. Called the cops, no witnesses (it was 3:30 am), figuring the car’s gone. Go home, eventually fall asleep. When I wake up, the car’s in the back yard, about where I usually park it. Call the cops again to check out the car, take prints and so forth. They say they’ve never heard anything like it. Best I can figure, whoever took it had a parent/spouse/sig other bring it back. I’m one lucky fellow on that one! ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/27 "2001-05-04T02:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > (it was 3:30 am) > [@](#): > > When I wake up, the car’s in the back yard, about where I usually park it. > [@](#): > > Call the cops again to check out the car, take prints and so forth. Two questions: [ol] [li] Were you out partying before the cigarette run?[/li][li] Did did the cops actually find any strange fingerprints?[/li][/ol] If the answers are “Yes” and “No,” in that order, I think there might not be quite as much mystery about the whole thing as there appears to be at first blush. No offense. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/28 "2001-05-04T04:02:25Z")
None taken, Tenar. I see my post was a little incoherent - serious caffeine rush there. And it’s a pretty unbelievable story. To clarify: No, I wasn’t partying, I just happen to be a night owl who ran out of cigarettes. The car disappeared at 3:30 am from the parking lot of that gas station, and that’s where the cops responded. They gave me a lift home from the store to my house. The driveway for my house leads back to my backyard - there’s no parking on my street, it’s too narrow. When I got home I was upset, mostly at my own stupidity, and it took me several hours to get to sleep, and I slept through the day. When I woke up after nightfall, the car was there in the backyard, and I’m certain it had not been there that morning. Like I said, the street in front of my home is no parking, and it’s well lit, but the backyard’s usually pretty dark. So far as strange fingerprints, I don’t know, as the cops didn’t say, but there were cigarette ashes in places like the cupholder and the door handle where there weren’t before, and there was about a hundred or so more miles on it than I remembered. Not saying I had the mileage memorized, but I use that trip odometer to keep track of my gas mileage, and it was way higher than it should have been. So that’s the story. I can’t account for it, I’m just glad I got my car back. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2001, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/29 "2001-05-05T00:03:45Z")
Fair enough. I stand corrected. 🙂 Actually, a (non-smoking) friend of mine whose car was stolen for a joyride had it returned (by the police, not the perps) with loads of ashes and a couple of reggae tapes inside. Now if _ **those** _ guys had gotten confused about where they parked, it wouldn’t be so surprising. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/30 "2001-05-05T01:38:48Z")
Your “(non smoking)” reminded me of the first thing my folks said after I told them my car had been taken: “I think someone’s trying to tell you to quit smoking.” Gee, thanks, Mom & Dad :rolleyes: BTW, like the user name - I’m a long time Earthsea fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056.md?page=1)