Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Account Executive Matt Gorham discuss tips to protect your HVAC and plumbing vehicles from break-ins.

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Director/Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alyssa Burley⁠⁠

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠Matt Gorham⁠⁠

Producer/Editor: Jadyn Brandt

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: You’re listening to Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ podcast, where each week we break down complex insurance and safety topics to help your business thrive.

I’m your host, Alyssa Burley, and today I’m joined by Matt Gorham, Account Executive with Rancho Mesa. He specializes in risk management for HVAC and Plumbing contractors. And, we’re going to discuss tips to protect your HVAC and plumbing vehicles from break-ins.

Matt, welcome to the show.

Matt Gorham: It’s great to be here and thank you for having me. I’m excited to share ideas on how to help address a serious issue that many HVAC and Plumbing contractors face: vehicle break-ins.

AB: All right well we’re happy you’re here and I’m sure it’s a problem that’s affecting many contractors.

Will you explain to our listeners why it’s an issue?

MG: Yeah there are a lot of issues that arise from having your vehicle broken into. It’s common for contractors to keep thousands of dollars’ worth of tools, equipment, and materials in their vehicles and that’s all put at risk with a break in.

Let’s first acknowledge that, generally speaking, it’s easy to pick out contractors’ vehicles. They usually have very distinct shapes, they often have recognizable logos, and – especially on the servicing side – many are wrapped in colorful, eye catching branding.

Those branded trucks and brightly colored vans can be great advertising for potential customers, but it’s also advertising to potential thieves. They know that those trucks are often loaded with all of that equipment and tools.

AB: It sounds like a break-in would really disrupt the ability of an HVAC and plumbing contractor to provide service to their customers.

MG: Yeah, you’re spot on Alyssa. There’s the obvious impact of the break in – assuming the vehicle itself wasn’t stolen – that those tools or equipment need to be replaced. But going beyond that, as a business owner, you now need to figure out how to take care of: your employee, like you pointed you, the work they were expected to do, the customer – or customers – they were expected to do that work for, potentially the other employee that now has to do that work, replacing the equipment, the materials, and tools that were stolen or damaged – including deciding how to address any of your employees’ tools that may have been stolen, and fixing any damage that was done to the vehicle itself, while also losing revenue from being down that vehicle while it’s in the shop.

AB: Yeah, there’s really are a lot of ways that a business can suffer from a break-in.

So, what can business owners do to protect themselves from going through all of that?

MG: Yeah and like you said there’s a lot that can happen and fortunately, there are many steps that can be taken, but there are 5 in particular I want to share.

Number one, have clearly defined policies and discuss them with your employees. Recognizing that vehicle break-ins are a risk is a good first step. Clearly defining practices that mitigate that risk is great. But what typically causes challenges is ineffective or inconsistent execution of those practices. Employees that drive vehicles home need to be aware of safe practices, they need to clearly understand them, and they need to know that they’re accountable for implementing them.

Number two is to leave expensive equipment, tools, and materials at the shop. This may be inconvenient, but keeping sewer cameras, monitors, and other expensive equipment at the shop can help keep it safe. And if that’s not practical, having the employee bring the equipment inside their home overnight may be another option. Capreece Serna, who’s the Senior Safety Services Consultant with Sentry Insurance, pointed out that if neither of these options are viable and expensive equipment must be left in the vehicle, keep it out of sight from the outside. This also goes for tablets, wallets, keys, garage door openers, and security badges – anything valuable.

AB: Yeah, those are all good points. And I think about that all the time when I leave something in the car, I try to hide it. Thieves are typically looking for opportunity and leaving valuables or expensive items in plain It can be an invitation, especially if they already know to look for contractors' vehicles.

MG: I completely agree. Which brings me to the third suggestion, which Carpreece and multiple other loss control representatives have emphasized, lock your vehicles and set your alarms. This sounds basic, but locks are one of the most effective ways of securing your vehicles. It can be common for employees that drive to be getting in and out of the vehicles multiple times throughout the day and many of them have developed a habit of leaving their trucks unlocked. Make sure that anyone driving a company vehicle is locking it when they get out, especially at the end of the day. And keep in mind that there are aftermarket locks that can be used also. I’ve heard growing concern over the effectiveness of puck locks, but there are different types and alternative external and internal locks that can be used, as well as alarms. Preventing access to your vehicle is best, but if that’s compromised limiting the amount of time a thief has access is the next best thing.

And number four is to be aware of and monitor surroundings. So, the situation for each employee that takes a vehicle home is different, so this really depends on the environment that they leave the vehicle in overnight. Parking inside a garage is almost always best. Parking behind a security gate can be helpful. Maybe parking in the driveway, backed up as close as possible to the garage door to prevent opening the back doors can be another useful strategy. And if parking in the street, leaving the vehicle in a well-lit area as close the employee’s home as possible, or using another object to act as a physical obstacle can help, such as backing right up to the front of another truck. Also, motion activated lights or cameras can also be useful deterrents

And number five, review coverage for tools, equipment, materials, and employees’ tools with your insurance broker. All of the previous suggestions will help to reduce the risk and severity of break-ins, but they won’t eliminate the risk – as that’s a much bigger social issue. So, talk with your insurance broker to develop a coverage strategy that takes into account what equipment, tools, and materials are at risk, what amount of that risk you’re comfortable keeping within the business, and have the carrier take on the rest of the risk.

AB: Yeah, those are all great ideas that seem like they could be useful to a lot of contractors, beyond just HVAC and Plumbing. And you know what I'm thinking also in our personal life; those are just really good tips to keeping our personal items safe if we have to leave them inside a vehicle.

And the one that stands out most for me is the importance of having clearly defined policies and discussing them with employees.

MG: Yeah, that one really stood out to me, too. As I mentioned, I spoke with multiple loss control representatives at various carrier partners and that was a point that all of them made. It’s vital for employees to know that the risk is very real, what’s expected of them, and to be held accountable to it.

AB: Yeah, and our SafetyOne™ mobile app can help play a key role by allowing businesses a way for their employees to digitally access policies, also it can be used for security checklists accessed through the app or via a QR code. So employees can document the equipment, tools and materials that are left in the truck at the end of the work day with a couple of photos and confirm they’ve locked the vehicle, parked in a safety location, all of those other things that you mentioned, all to reinforce safe practices, accountability, and employee implementation.

MG: Absolutely. That’s another unique way that Rancho Mesa clients can leverage the SafetyOne™ platform to strengthen their overall risk management program.

AB: Absolutely, so Matt, if listeners have questions about their current coverages or they’re looking for guidance on securing their vehicles from break-ins, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

MG: Yeah and to your point, we’ve been doing policy audits for HVAC and Plumbing contractors and consistently finding inconsistencies between their coverages, their exposures, and their preferences. For those listeners that are interested in having us do the same or simply have questions, I can be reached at (619) 486-6554 or mgorham@ranchomesa.com.

AB: All right, well Matt, thanks for joining me in StudioOne™.

MG: It’s been my pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity to be here.

AB: Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. If you enjoyed what you heard, please share this episode and subscribe. For more insights like this, visit us at RanchoMesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.