Theft & preparedness
What proof do I need if my tools are stolen?
Keep a clear record of each tool: photos, make and model, serial number, purchase details and receipts where available. These give you information to share with Police and your insurer if it is stolen. There is no single evidence checklist that guarantees an insurance claim: ask your insurer what your policy requires.
Start with records you can actually find
Keep your ownership records, such as receipts and photographs, together. Ask your insurer what evidence it needs for your policy and circumstances.
Create one record per tool. A folder of random photos is a start; a photo connected to a make, model and serial number is easier to identify later.
What to keep for each tool
Use this as a practical record-keeping checklist. It is not a list of compulsory requirements for every insurer.
- Photos: the whole tool, its identification label and distinctive marks.
- Make, model and serial number: copy carefully and keep a close-up photo to check against.
- Purchase details: date, seller, price paid and a receipt or invoice if you have one.
- Ownership: yours, your employer’s, borrowed, gifted or bought second-hand. Keep relevant purchase correspondence.
- Current replacement information: a dated supplier quote or product link can be useful context. Label it separately from the original purchase price; it does not determine an insurance settlement.
- Location: where you usually keep it and who currently has it.
No receipt? Start with what you do have
Look for the original invoice in your email, an order confirmation, seller messages or a retailer’s copy. Keep existing photos and any other genuine purchase records together. Do not create a substitute receipt or guess missing details.
Ask your insurer what alternative evidence it will consider. Do not assume a bank transaction or a photo will be enough on its own. An incomplete record is a reason to ask, not a reason to invent an answer.
If the tool has already been stolen
Follow your local police’s stolen-property reporting instructions. Keep the tool description, value and serial number handy, and save the report reference with your records.
Contact your insurer promptly, describe what happened and ask what it needs next. Separate what you know from what you estimate.
Make a small start today
Choose the three tools you would most want identified if they disappeared. Photograph each one, record the serial number and attach the purchase evidence you already have. Then work through the rest of your kit.
Keep records somewhere separate from the tools and check you can access them from another device. Update the record when you sell, lend or replace a tool.