Author, Drew Garcia, Vice President, Landscape Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

A piece of heavy equipment like a skid steer, backhoe, or excavator can be a vital tool for a landscape company and is expensive to replace, if stolen. According to the National Equipment Register (NER), heavy equipment is nine-times more likely to be stolen than vandalized and five-times more likely to be stolen than encounter fire damage. These statistics are alarming and prove theft of heavy equipment has now become a billion dollar illegal industry.

When confronted with these realities, business owners are comforted that they’ve purchased an inland marine insurance policy to cover the loss of a piece of heavy equipment. But, there is another step companies can take to reduce the likelihood that a piece of their equipment will be stolen or increase the chance that stolen equipment will be recovered.

HELPtech (i.e., heavy equipment loss prevention technology), is an online database that tracks heavy equipment. Law enforcement officials are able to utilize the information from the database to track and recover stolen equipment. Decals on the equipment alert would-be thieves that stealing this equipment and trying to sell it will be more trouble than it’s worth.

In some cases, insurance carriers are willing to waive the policy theft deductible, if the equipment that was stolen is actively registered through the NER - HELPtech database. 

The NER also provides updated theft trends and security tips for best practices to help companies stay informed and up to date on activity across the country.

In partnership with the NER, Rancho Mesa can offer clients a 20% discount when utilizing HELPtech. Register your equipment, today.

To learn more about your heavy equipment exposure, contact me at (619) 937-0200 or drewgarcia@ranchomesa.com.