NEWINGTON, Conn. — After more than 100 cars were broken into in Newington in one night, people may be left wondering what they would do if it happened to them. Most of the cars were left with shattered windows.
"I put my key into the door and I just couldn't understand why it was open. I sat down, and I sat on a sea of glass. There was glass all over the front passenger seat,” said Harold Nevins of Newington.
Many of his neighbors at condo complexes along Kitts Lane were in the same boat.
“It sucks, it's the first thing you wake up to. I was looking forward to Christmas shopping that day, you can't really do that with no window in your car,” said Adam Reindel of Newington.
With the winter months here, that means they needed to fix it quickly.
“They said like a hundred plus cars were broken into and luckily i was able to find this guy who said he could help me the next day,” said Reindel.
Luckily for him, his insurance covered the damage.
“AAA insurance does see more of auto claims for glass being the most common type of auto claim,” said Sonia Medina, an insurance agent with AAA.
She says the best thing people can do to make sure they are protected in this type of scenario is check their policies now and make sure broken glass is covered.
“Get that policy checked right now,” she said. “Go and look at your policy or call your insurance agent, call your insurance company and just make sure you have that coverage,” said Medina.
Without it, you'll be stuck paying out of pocket. You don't need a police report for your insurance to cover broken glass and you can either get it fixed through a company your insurance recommends, or one of your choice.
“If they have a company for glass damage that they used in the past and they prefer, they can go directly to them and usually that company will help them with the claim process as well,” said Medina.
If items are stolen from your car, you'll have to go through either home or renters insurance. In Newington, some neighbors are still trying to determine just how much was taken from them.
“Some things were touched, some things were not touched. They had a good idea of what they were looking for,” said Nevins.
While these types of situations are unfortunate, they do happen, and police say break-ins are happening often. So making sure you do have that protection before something happens is important, especially this time of year.
“With colder weather this is actually the best time to review the policy, and see if you have the coverage. and what deductibles you may or may not have,” said Medina.
AAA says to be careful around broken glass, and to cover broken windows as soon as possible to prevent any damage to the inside of the car.