Fishing - car theft claim rejected

werdnap

Appoplgies if there is already a thread covering this but I did have a quick look.

My wife's car was recently stolen from the drive, the keys having been obtained by the thief "fishing" through the letterbox.

My wife has spoken to the insurance company's claims department and she felt they were trying to suggest that she was negligent by leaving the keys in a position where they could be accessed in this manner.

On reading the small print they don't list this as an exclusion but they do say in a section titled "Don't let the criminal win" - keep you car keys secure and out of sight in your home as they can be targetted for burglaries.

Has anyone got first hand experience of having a claim denied in similar circumstances? :mad:

mattymoo

Insurers will certainly reject a claim if the keys are in or on the vehicle when it was stolen. Typical case is when people go to pay for fuel at the forecourt shop.

Unable to find any ombudsman decisions relating to theft of keys from property.

If your insurers do decline the claim then you need to ask them what condition they are relying on. As Dan says, we can then check the cover and advise further.

FlameCloud

There is no way in hell that they would be able to justify a reasonable care kick out for that! The only one I could think of if the exclusion is for a lack of forcible and violent entry, but even then they are exceptionally iffy ground.

Kittian_the_Blue

Agree with FlameCloud there is no way that a repudiation would stand up on the basis of lack of reasonable care

dacouch

I agree it is not gross negligence, they have locked the car and have the keys inside a locked house. Where abouts in the house they are is irrelevant.

Its a bit like the Home Insurer trying to refuse a burgalary claim because the customer had a nice 50 inch Plasma TV on the wall that could be seen from outside the house.

I have not seen any car policies that contain the vioilent or forcible entry warranty on the key cover as its more of a home insurance warranty and the key cover is relatively new so I don't think they have had time to fine tune the restrictions. As this type of theft is quite common now days I would not be surprised to see this type of warranty in the future though

dogbot

Agreed with dacouch.

It sounds like the OP has been unfortunate enough to have to deal with an idiot on the phone. I haven't heard of any insurer trying to decline on this basis.

The problem is that some staff working in the claims arena will hear a lot about this type of theft and might assume that everyone else should be just as aware of the risk as they are! That said, it has been on the TV quite a lot, so hopefully everyone will soon be wise to the risk and hide their keys away in a draw.

Insco

Your wife has not been reckless which is the legal test.

There is unlikely to be a forcible and violent entry exclusion on a motor policy.

You don't say if they have actually denied your wife's claim at this time or not - merely " tyring to suggest she was negligent". Call Insurers again and if they confirm that they are denying the claim advise that you wish to lodge a formal complaint.

dacouch

I agree Dogbot, unfortunately claims staff now days are often not that clued up on Insurance. I think it is because the person they have been dealing with just deals with motor claims so would know how to instruct an approved repairer etc etc. The OPs claim is a fairly rare claim for them to deal with and is more of a home insurance claim if you know what I mean as its not a case of repairing or replacing the car so they try and apply their limited knowledge of home insurance to the claim and come up with this chestnut of an answer.

Norfolk_Jim

forcible entry does not have to be very forcible - pushing the letter box open and invading your house with a tool to take property is forcible entry. Unless they claim it has to be both forcible and violent - but again violent is open to inerpretation. If your home is violated, it has been subject to violence.

LeeSouthEast

I trust you reported this to the police as a burglary? Because that's what it was. I'd like to see the insurer reconsider on that basis, once reported.

Insco

Lee this is a theft claim on a motor policy