According to research from Direct Line , tools are stolen from a tradesperson ’ s vehicle in the UK every 20 minutes . That ’ s over 28,000 cases a year . To use a personal example , my former house in Devon sits on a road mainly leading to housing and it gets very little through traffic . Despite this , in the recent past , a couple of different trade vans parked in the road have been broken into and their tools being stolen . The Northwest has the highest tool thefts per resident in the country , but the problem exists everywhere .

This article looks at the ways that you can reduce both your risk and the impact should the worst happen .

Do the simple stuff first Because something is simple and cheap isn ’ t a good reason to ignore it . Some simple things to help with van theft are :

• Use a steering lock or a brake lock : it makes a statement to the potential thief

• Use wheel locks

• Always park your van overnight in a locked garage or in a well-lit area if possible

• If parking on your drive , at least fit some of the following : movement detecting lights ; cameras ; a lockable gate ; and CCTV

Thieves hate honest work . So , make sure that stealing from you will involve lots of hassle .

Get the right insurance

Although it should only be your last line of defence , you need to consider your insurance cover . With costs rising due to increasing incidents , it ’ s important to align the things you do to reduce the risk of theft with minimising the cost of insurance . Remember that van modifications can invalidate your insurance so be careful .

Figures from the insurance industry say that the average claim relating to theft from light commercial vehicles is nearly two thousand pounds . Make sure you have arranged comprehensive insurance and that you keep the invoices for your most expensive items .

The insurance industry has a research arm called Thatcham which accredits security solutions . If you use accredited equipment you will benefit from a triple whammy – the solution should work well , will be acceptable to the insurance industry and should lower your premiums too . There are three levels of security : Category 1 , Category 2 and category 2 / 1 . These are well worth looking into .

Direct Line has some specialist policies including “ Tools Essentials ”. This aims to get tradespeople back to work quickly , replacing essential stolen tools within 24 hours , although conditions apply .

You should check exactly what ’ s included in your insurance and whether a replacement van

will be provided in the case of theft .

Choose your van wisely It ’ s worth prioritising van security in choosing your vehicle . No van is 100 % secure , but the Association of British Insurers ’ ( ABI ) has a Group Rating system , administered by Thatcham . The ratings are available via their My- Vehicle search tool . This means that you can easily check how secure any potential van is which will also help to minimise the insurance cost .

Don ’ t let them simply drive away or help themselves

If thieves can avoid physical exertion and risk then they will both be much happier much more up for targeting you and your van .

One of the most embarrassing failures can happen where a van is left unlocked and thieves either help themselves or simply drive away . This can happen when picking up materials , on site or when paying for fuel . So , when you are loading , unloading or paying for petrol , keep the van locked and the windows closed as this is actually when it can be at its most vulnerable . One protection is to fit slam locks so that doors always get locked by default . It stops reliance on you ( or your staff ) bothering to lock the doors explicitly every time . In pursuit of an easy job , thieves can steal or buy skeleton

keys , or scan for the wireless signals that your key fob generates . They then replicate it to fool your van into thinking the key has been pressed . This is mostly silent , and the system sometimes will even disable any alarms .

To avoid this , think carefully about where you store your keys when they ’ re not in your van . Scanners have limited range . Keep your keys away from your main entrance at night .

Don ’ t invite them to target you

If crooks can see things like tools that are valuable and easy to move on , it ’ s much more likely that they will act . There are some simple ways to help to stop this happening :

• Hide any valuables and tools from view . When things can be seen , it ’ s an open invitation . Some thieves will even tell themselves that they are not doing wrong because you “ asked for it ”

• Add a sticker or writing on the van “ No tools are left in this vehicle overnight ” or “ All tools are securely locked in a tamper-proof box ”. Then practise what you preach

• Put blanks in place of glazed windows ( or use plastic glazing on the windows which is a cheap alternative ) and put a screen between the driving area and the back . That way the crooks don ’ t know what they will be getting . It helps them to decide to look elsewhere