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For many clients, their motor vehicles are an extension of their homes – a place where they feel safe and comfortable. As a result, it is a common mistake made by many to simply leave certain belongings in the car overnight believing that they will be safe until the morning.

 

According to a recent survey conducted by Allianz Insurance, drivers in the UK leave up to £3-billion worth of belongings in their cars overnight. Even more worrying, over half of these drivers do not lock their car while they are sleeping. In South Africa, we tend to be far more cautious on the issue of theft and safety, as a result of our high crime rate. However, the reality is that many clients do still leave belongings overnight in their vehicles, and sometimes on full display to potential burglars.

 

At MUA, we receive a number of claims for items that have been stolen from our client’s motor vehicles. In fact, these claims have increased markedly following the recent criminal ‘trend’ of thieves interfering with the remote control locking of vehicles, an issue I raised in a recent RISKSA column. Motorists press their remotes believing they have locked their vehicle. However, interference – deliberate or otherwise – by third party remotes being pressed at the same time reportedly interferes with the locking process leaving the vehicle open and exposed to petty criminals.

 

The problem for the insurance industry in these cases is that signs of forced entry are usually required by the insurer in order to show that the vehicle was broken into. If there is no sign of forced entry then the insurer must work on the assumption that the client simply failed to lock the car. In doing so, any claim would be rejected as the client failed to act with due care and diligence.

 

The advice may not be new but it is certainly worth repeating. Clients must ensure that when they leave their vehicle it is securely locked. If this involves going back to the vehicle to double check, then advise them to do so as failure to do this may leave them at risk of having a claim repudiated.

 

Often, the types of claims that would arise from belongings being left in a vehicle are small items such as sunglasses, GPS navigation systems, iPods, laptops and bags with personal possessions. However, while these items may be small they can often prove very expensive to replace.

 

It is also advisable to remind clients that unless belongings that have been left behind in a vehicle were hidden from view, it is highly likely that such a claim may be repudiated. In South Africa especially, terms and conditions stipulated by most insurers insist that belongings not be left on display.

It is also important that clients are made aware of the fact that this general restriction often applies regardless of whether the client has unspecified all risks cover in place, as such a theft would be seen as negligence on the part of the client.

 

In order to ensure that a claim will be covered most insurers will insist clients keep items left in an unoccupied car within a locked compartment such as a cubby-hole or boot. If the vehicle does not have a boot in which bigger items may be stored away, then it is possible that an additional excess will also apply.

 

The best advice, however, is to ensure that any expensive and/or sentimental belongings are not kept in a vehicle at all. The next time you do speak to your client, it may be an idea to ask them to consider what items they regularly leave in their vehicles overnight and explain to them the risks of doing so.

 

Please visit the MUA poll on the RISKSA website to complete the anonymous questionnaire about whether you or your clients have ever left expensive belongings in a car overnight. The exciting results will be revealed in a few weeks via the media and newsletter. To complete the poll visit www.risksa.com