California

Policyholder’s Security and Surveillance Saves the Day – And a Claim

When one of Agent Gina Vallee’s customers started telling her a story about a break in at his vacation home, the San Carlos agent started preparing to take a claim for the long-time policyholder.

As it turns out, no claim was required, thanks to the security and surveillance system that the policyholder, Doug Eckles, had installed on the property.

“Doug is a former police officer, so he knows all about crime,” Vallee said. “When he started telling me the story about the break in at his vacation home, I was so pleased that his preventative measures had helped in his time of need.”

On April 14, two Calaveras County residents broke into Eckles’ garage at his vacation home, setting off the house’s security alarm and kicking the security cameras into action. Within minutes, several items were stolen from the property.

 
What the burglars didn’t know was that their activity was all caught on tape. Eckles’ surveillance equipment picked up pictures of the two suspects, as well as pictures of their vehicle. He was able to share the images with local authorities.

The next day, the deputy who had responded to the initial break in spotted the vehicle and suspects from the pictures, and – after showing them the pictures from the surveillance equipment – took them into custody. Some of the stolen property was recovered from the vehicle, and the rest was recovered from a residence in Douglas Flat, Calif.

“The preventative measures that our customer took saved his personal possessions and saved State Farm from having to take a claim,” said Sevag Sarkissian, Public Affairs specialist for State Farm. “It’s a great reminder to us all that insurance is there to help us recover from the unexpected, but also that a little prevention can go a long way in avoiding an unfortunate loss.”

“Instead of taking his claim, I was able to congratulate him,” said Vallee of her conversation with Eckles, continuing, “That’s the kind of story you want to tell.”