(NEENAH, Wisc.) – If you are traveling with jewelry, be aware of thieves waiting for their next robbery opportunity. “At Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, we have been seeing an increase in the number of reported off-premises travel losses involving jewelry,” reports David Sexton, CPCU, vice president of Loss Prevention. He advises, “Before you travel with jewelry again, carefully review your safety practices to be sure you are not the next victim.”
Jewelers Mutual offers a highly acclaimed (and free) online training course, “Danger on the Road” at www.JMUniversity.com. This one-of-a-kind course offers well-researched safety advice based on careful analysis of actual acts of crime to help you avoid becoming a victim when you travel with your jewelry line or transport jewelry.
Make no mistake; thieves are watching you. If they suspect you are carrying a jewelry line, there is little they will stop at including forcing you into accidents, boxing your car in and smashing out windows, beating you, and other dangerous – even life-threatening – experiences.
A recent headline from a Jewelers’ Security Alliance Crime Alert is a good reminder of the danger facing traveling jewelry salespersons:
Salesperson has Burglary Attempt at Relative’s Home
Chicago, IL area – November 6, 2008 – A salesperson’s car was parked in the garage of a relative’s home with merchandise in the trunk, which was equipped with special trunk security protection. The salesperson had made sales calls in the suburban Chicago area, and then went out with his relatives to dinner. When the salesperson returned to the home with his relatives, they discovered the house had been ransacked, and tools had been used to try to break into the car trunk from the rear seat. However, the suspects were not successful in getting into the trunk. Two Hispanic males in black clothing were seen by witnesses running in the street near the scene, and it was reported that a blue Ford Windstar had been parked halfway on the grass near the residence. (Compliments of www.jewelerssecurity.org.)
The salesperson in this case took safety precautions including having a separate security system in his car and parking inside a locked garage. Had he not taken these precautions, the thieves would have almost certainly been successful in stealing his line. Were there other precautions he could have taken?
The 35 to 40 minutes it takes to complete “Danger on the Road” could save the lives of you or your associates and spare you from becoming the next victim. Available at www.JMUniversity.com, the interactive course is free to everyone in the jewelry industry. Take it before you take your next road trip.
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company is the only company specializing exclusively in jewelry insurance in the United States and Canada. Visit the Jewelers Mutual Web site at www.jewelersmutual.com.
