villa robbery, insurance claim

danielson81

Hi, dont know if anyone can help. But the villa I was staying in, in Spain was robbed whilst we were sitting outside having dinner.


!We had some money stolen, a camera and a kindle. The villa has a large garden/pool area so we didn't see it happen.


We noticed a few hours later when things were missing from some of the rooms.!


!Anyway, just wondered is it worth claiming on our travel insurance as it states it must be a break in or valuables etc kept in a deposit box. We have a police report etc . I think they won't pay out as villa wasn't locked up whilst we were sitting about 15m away.!


Thanks for any help . Dan!

Tomby1

danielson81 wrote: »

as it states it must be a break in or valuables etc kept in a deposit box.

Right there says that you probably won't be able to claim through your travel insurance. Unfortunately, if they were unattended they should have been locked away.

danielson81

Thanks, thought so. Nowhere to lock them away in villa though. Sods law !

Enterprise_1701C

Do you have an All Risks extension on your household policy? You might be able to claim on that if you have, might also be worth having a word with your travel insurers and stating there was nowhere to lock them.

Voyager2002

danielson81 wrote: »

Hi, dont know if anyone can help. But the villa I was staying in, in Spain was robbed whilst we were sitting outside having dinner.


!We had some money stolen, a camera and a kindle. The villa has a large garden/pool area so we didn't see it happen.


We noticed a few hours later when things were missing from some of the rooms.!


!Anyway, just wondered is it worth claiming on our travel insurance as it states it must be a break in or valuables etc kept in a deposit box. We have a police report etc . I think they won't pay out as villa wasn't locked up whilst we were sitting about 15m away.!


Thanks for any help . Dan!

Long ago, when I worked dealing with insurance claims, a burglary was anything that involved opening a door that was closed. If the crooks simply walked into your property through an open door then you have had it, but if the doors were closed then you might well be covered. I suggest you submit the claim anyway: you went to the trouble of getting a police report, which is probably a lot more work than preparing an insurance claim.

shaun_from_Africa

Before you think about claiming there is one further thing to bear in mind.

If you take out any further policies in the future, you may well find that your premiums will have increased due to this, and even if your insurers refuse to pay out, there will probably still be a record of the attempted claim.

IMO, you should read the policy very carefully to see if you can find out exactly how your insurers define a break in, and if there is anything that states that the property must be locked, then it may not even be worth trying.

Debt_Free_Chick

Also, bear in mind any excess which may mean you receive only a small amount

danielson81

Thanks, the crooks scaled a fence or the locked gates. But back patio doors open , front door locked

lady1964

I sympathise with you OP, having your stuff stolen whilst on holiday is always horrible, it happened to me and my stuff was locked in a safe - the safe in our room didn't work so I put it in a sealed envelope in the safe at reception & one of their staff, who was a temporary employee, helped himself!!

If there is nowhere to secure your valuables in your room/villa/apartment, it's worth putting them into a locked suitcase and if possible, that suitcase into another locked suitcase, and placed out of sight if possible, keeping the keys with you or in a well hidden place. At the very least, it might be too much effort for an opportunist thief, particularly if they are aware that the residents are only yards away and not out for the evening/day.

Doshwaster

If there's no safe I often hide any valuable in my dirty clothes. It would take a brave thief to go through my smelly socks and underwear!

martindow

From the OP it seems that someone walked into a villa and stole items while everyone was sitting outside. If the villa doors were not locked I would think that the insurance is very unlikely to pay out.