Bag theft, including passports, and insurance - advice needed

mikeylpool

Afternoon All,

I'm hoping to draw on some experience of others who may have been through something similar, or some general advice from anyone in the know. This is regards to claiming from holiday insurance for costs inclurred from stolen passports and missing flight,

Myself and family have recently returned from holiday in Spain and on the final day (in fact it was the final minutes) of the holiday we had the hire car broken in to and a bag stolen which contained, amongst other things, our passports. More details then - driving back towards the airport and we pulled in to a service station so the kids could go to the toilet. I understand leaving the bag in the car was a bit of a school boy error, but the kids were causing merry hell in the back of the car and desparately needed the toilet and when we arrived at the service station we just darted straight in to take the kids, leaving the bag in the car but locking the car. The bag was partly stuffed under the front seat anyway during the journey. To be honest, I just didn't give the bag any thought when we pulled in.

After going to the toilet, and grabbing a quick drink, we went back to the car and in the short time we had gone a window had been smashed and the bag taken. This then resulted in the need for emergency passports and new flights to be booked, as well as other incidentals and expenses and also the cost of replacing the new passports etc.

Upon returning home we have contacted the insurance who, based on the intial call, are suggesting that leaving the bag unattended in the car may make the claim void. Having checked the pamphlet for the insurance, for stolen passport claim there is a condition where the person must take 'reasonable effort' to keep the passport safe, and 'reasonable effort' to retrieve the passport.

Has anyone had any experience of anything similar, and made a successful claim.

Thanks all and looking forward to seeing what anyone says (but please, I feel bad enough as it so try to avoid calling me for everything for leaving the bag in the car ;-))

NiftyDigits

I think they will say that if the bag was not locked in the boot or in a locked compartment within the car, you won't be covered.
Have a look at the policy document, to see if this clause/exclusion is there.
If not, you might be successful.

InsideInsurance

You need to read the exact wording on your policy, ideally you'd place a link to it online here too.

As the above post, most insurers do explicitly exclude theft from unattended motor vehicles unless the items were locked in the boot (or another locked compartment for some).

You also need to carefully check which sections the exclusion applies to as it may exclude the stolen bag and passports but still allow the claim for the flights.

iltisman

How did you get back without passports? I always plan to stow away on a banana boat if that happens.

InsideInsurance

iltisman wrote: »

How did you get back without passports? I always plan to stow away on a banana boat if that happens.

You go to the consulate/ embassy and they issue (sell) you with an emergency travel document that's valid for 1 trip to the UK

mikeylpool

I can't post a link to the policy as I'm a new user, but this was a HSBC policy and easily accessible from the main HSBC.co.uk website (if anyone is willing to take a look I would appreciate it).


This all seems to hinge of who defines the terms 'reasonable care'. Having a bag under a seat and in a locked car whilst no-one obvious was hanging around seems 'reasonable' to me. Not sure in insurance or legal terms but to me, reasonable wouldn't necessarily imply highest levels of security.

Any thoughts?

I've not really much experience with insurance claims (in fact minimal) so not sure if insurance firms ALWAYS try to wriggle out in the first instance and it's necessary to apply a bit of pressure to get a pay out.

mart.vader

I think that most (all ? ) insurance cos require you to have reported the crime to the Police. Did you ?

Wammer

It is normal for insurance policies to state that items should be in a locked luggage compartment or glove box.

shaun_from_Africa

Unattended baggage is not covered for theft and HSBC class baggage left in a car as unattended unless in the boot or other storage area.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/PA_esf-ca-app-content/content/pws/content/personal/pdfs/hsbc-travel-insurance-policy-booklet.pdf

Page 14.

Unattended

Not in your full view or positioned where you are unable to prevent unauthorised taking of your property, unless it is left in a locked room or safe. Property left in a motor vehicle is unattended unless the vehicle is locked and the items have been placed out of view in an enclosed storage compartment, boot or luggage space.

Andypandyboy

This happened to us (although not passports but luggage en route to the airport) and the travel insurers did pay some but not much, and the rest we had to claim via our househld policy.

mikeylpool

Hi all and thanks for the advice so far.

Having read over the policy again, whilst I can see the definition of 'unattended' as mentioned by the poster above ('Shaun from Africa'), the policy does not appear to state that unattended baggage is not covered in either the 'What is not covered' for that section or the general exclusions.

Not sure whether this would sway a decision though.