Apparently many insurance companies still have a clause saying they may not pay if the car was stolen with the keys inside or nearby.
Not quite the same but I only mentioned it as this was reported in Vegas recently.
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"Mrs X's insurer turned down a claim she made on her motor policy after her car was stolen from the garage of her house. She said the car had been taken one morning, while she was preparing to leave for work. She said she had already got into the car and started it up when she realised she still had the house phone with her. She left the car in the garage, with the engine running and driver's door open, and took the phone back to the house. Very shortly afterwards, she came out to find that the car gone.
The insurer refused to pay out, as it said she had left the vehicle 'unattended'. Mrs X disputed this and eventually took her claim to court. She said she had left the car where it was clearly visible to her husband. At the time he had been in the living room, which faced the driveway at the front of the house.
Claim not upheld in court -
In this case there was no question that the keys had been left in the car and the doors unlocked - Mrs D admitted as much when making her claim. She maintained that the car could not have been out of her sight for more than 10 seconds. She said she had not seen anyone 'hanging around' near the driveway.
In the circumstances, the court was satisfied that the vehicle had been left unattended and that the risk of theft would have been apparent to Mrs D. We said it was reasonable for the insurer to have turned down the claim, citing the 'keys in car' exclusion."
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Interestingly, my own UK car insurance which I renewed just yesterday, has the very same clause.
Nothing about how close it is to the house etc., and it actually says 'will not pay out' rather than 'might not'.
I do not intend to test them out.
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