Veteran’s Insurance spokesman offers advice as car thefts on the rise in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – At least 400 cars have been reported stolen in New Orleans since 2023, and insurers like Dan Burghardt are hearing from victims.

“It’s just the customers who are affected by all these thefts that are happening, they call us and let us know that their car has been stolen,” said Burghardt, who owns Dan Burghardt Insurance. Agency.

According to crime statistics presented to the New Orleans City Council this week, there were thousands of car thefts in the city last year.

District D Councilman Eugene Green responded to the statistics.

“When you look at the 4,000 car thefts, people just drive cars so they enjoy driving or read online and see Tiktok saying how to steal a Kia or Hyundai and you do it because That tells us we have a breakdown. It really needs to be addressed,” Green said.\

Burghardt knows what it’s like to be a victim. He said his company’s van bearing the name of his agency was stolen in Kenner while he was sitting outside his business on Veterans Boulevard. He got it back 14 days later.

“I decided to make a Facebook post with a picture of my van and tell people, hey, if you see my van, Burghardt van has my name on it I’m not in inside, it’s stolen, please help me. search and within three, four days we got reports that were in Mississippi, used to transport stolen bikes and sent all my equipment used for home shows, ” Burghardt said.

His car was found in New Orleans.

“The vehicle suddenly appeared in New Orleans on Fulton Street, and the New Orleans Police Department said it was recovered by G&M Towing Service in New Orleans East,” the statement said. Burghardt.

For people who have had their cars stolen, he said they should contact the police and their insurance company as soon as possible because failure to do so could result in costly consequences.

“As soon as a car is stolen, it no longer has insurance, the insurance company does not have to pay if there is an accident with your car,” said Burghardt.

He added that getting a refund for a car that has not been recovered takes time.

“If you have a statement and you want to pay it back there is a 30 day waiting period before a company goes to give or calculate the cost of the car to pay you to pay you if it is no longer available from,” Burghardt said. “If you haven’t purchased the lease repayment is still under the full coverage as a provision for the tenancy in case of theft.”

Burghardt thinks the rapid increase in car thefts in New Orleans will eventually drive up insurance premiums.

“If this continues and the claims keep coming in they have to adjust the prices based on the city and the zip code where the problem is happening, maybe it’s going to be a problem in New Orleans with the increase in price,” he said. .

And Burghardt said insurance companies don’t cover things stolen from cars.

“We get those calls. Unfortunately, if it’s not covered by a renter’s or homeowner’s policy, what’s lost in that vehicle is not covered,” he said.

The NOPD says if a vehicle is stolen and recovered in New Orleans, the towing authority will not be charged the towing and storage fee if the vehicle is not towed for more than 90 days.

But Burghardt’s van was just recovered in New Orleans, so he said he had to pay to get it back.

They said it was about $750,800 dollars,” Burghardt said. “If it’s outside of the New Orleans area and we have the opportunity in New Orleans to pay it back or it’s not good, we’ll try.”

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