What insurance would a Sat Nav come under

missstropy

Hiya folks.

We were burgled on Weds night/thursday morning and one of the things they took was my OH bag that he uses for work with his road maps and sat nav in.

Ive rang our insurance and they are saying a sat nav is a motoring accessory so its not covered on my house insurance even though it was in the house.

we dont leave it in the car as its a hire car and its not safe to that anyway, and anyway they took the hire car as well.

does anyone know if it is covered on house insurance or car insurance and whos car insurance the hire companys or ours????

dacouch

Who are you insured with?

Is it a portable sat nav eg you could put it in your bag and use it when you walk around town to give you directions?

dogbot

A tough one. I would say you need to examine the household insurance policy wording carefully to see:
1) Does it definatly exclude "motoring accessories" (not unlikely)
2) Under what section of the policy does the exclusion apply
3) What does it define as "motoring accessories"

I would say that there is a stong argument against a portable sat-nav being regarded as a motoring acessory in the sense the underwriter mean't by the term (thinking more of alloy wheels etc) - particularly because this could be used in any car, or on foot, or even on a bike. BUT because it is a portable item it would be regarded as a personal posession, so you would need personal posessions cover (hence point 2) above).

Some motor policies cover vehicle parts and accessories kept in a secure property so a claim might be valid there. However with that section, the flipside of the above may occur - they might argue it isn't a motoring accessory, but normal personal property. Some motor insruers specificaly exclude portable sat-nav's and will only cover them as personal posessions stolen from or with a vehicle (i.e. it would have to be IN the vehicle and comply with any security requirements). Others exclude them all together.

Sorry, it probably doesn't help a huge amount, other than to say read the detail and try again! Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Quentin

If its a hand held one, then it's a personal item, and should be covered by house contents with personal possessions cover.

On the topic of satnavs, everyone who installs one in the car should inform their insurer of the modification (or run the risk of having their insurance declared invalid should they make a claim).

lisyloo

On a related topic, will my motorcycle clothing and helmet be covered under contents/personal possessions?
I'm thinking of buying one of those inflateable jackets that are about £400 so it ain't cheap stuff when you add it all together.

Ms_Chocaholic

Quentin wrote: »

If its a hand held one, then it's a personal item, and should be covered by house contents with personal possessions cover.

On the topic of satnavs, everyone who installs one in the car should inform their insurer of the modification (or run the risk of having their insurance declared invalid should they make a claim).

What do you mean by "installs one in the car" - does this include those that stick to the windscreen

Quentin

If its installed in the car its a modification, no matter how it's attached.

Check with your insurer - as better to pay a small increase in premium now rather than find them reject the claim over undeclared modification if it's stolen.

Kittian_the_Blue

Rubbish - it's an accessory not a modification - otherwise furry dice, air frsheners etc would be a modification. I'd like to see the underwriter who states that it's a Mod stand up in court and defend it

Quentin

If you are rubbishing me, then it isn't necessary.

If you don't agree, then fair enough.

But I posted for the benefit of those concerned about not allowing their insurance to be invalidated.

And having furry dice in your car doesn't make it more attractive to a thief. But alloy wheels do. And satnavs do. (The relevant word is "installed"!)

(Just as changing the radio to a better one is a modification and needs declaring)

rudekid48

Quentin wrote: »

If its installed in the car its a modification, no matter how it's attached.

Check with your insurer - as better to pay a small increase in premium now rather than find them reject the claim over undeclared modification if it's stolen.

What is it you always say about "scaremongering"?

basill

I had my car window broken and the satnav nicked from its erm.. safe hiding place under the front seat.

Its a company car so no insurance for my own stuff. I tried a claim under my household insurance for goods `taken out of the home`. It was rejected as they said the item should have been locked in the glove box or in the boot.

I thought out of sight was good enough so I checked the policy booklet, the only restriction for items in the car tuened out to be windows up and car locked! I pointed this out and was paid. No more argument.

Check your policy carefully, they often seem to make stuff up as they go along to avoid paying out.

B