An insurance company refuses to pay out on the loss of a stolen car belonging to a Robina couple

The insurance company of a Gold Coast couple who had their vehicle stolen from their garage while they slept has refused to pay out on the claim. Here are the reasons why their claim was denied.

After their insurer refused to pay up, a Gold Coast couple whose home and car were stolen in a late-night robbery are almost $40,000 out of pocket.

Their Robina home was broken into by thieves using tools on Tuesday, August 13, while Guy and Nadine Broadbent were fast asleep.

“We didn’t know they had gone,” Mr Broadbent said.

In the garage, the car was secured. The thieves broke into our home, went into our garage, opened the roller door, and got into the car.”

The theft of Mr Broadbent’s brand new 2023 Kia Seltos Sport sedan was discovered only when he left for work at 4am the following morning. Immediately, he reported the incident to the police.

Despite feeling silly for being honest with the police, Mr Broadbent said he is an honest person who always does the right thing.

“I told them the car was locked in the garage and the key was in the center console. They drove away with our stuff after breaking into our house.”

There was no recovery of the stolen car.

The Broadbents filed a claim with Budget Direct (Auto General Services) the next day.

Several weeks later, they received a letter from the insurance company stating that the Kia theft was not covered. It was a deal breaker that the key was in the centre console of the car even though it had been stolen from their locked garage.

“We regret to inform you that we are unable to accept your claim,” the letter stated.

During the filing of your claim, we learned that Mr Guy Broadbent had left your main key inside the vehicle. The police report also confirmed this information.”

Budget Direct determined that the couple had not complied with the conditions set out on page 16 of the product disclosure statement.

As stated in the letter, “you are responsible for locking your car, activating any required security devices, and keeping all keys, remote locking devices, and proximity keys safe and secure.”

“This includes making sure all keys, remote locking devices, or proximity keys are not left in the vehicle.”

As a result of the burglary, the Broadbents appealed the insurer’s decision and argued that the vehicle was still secured in the garage inside their home when it was stolen. According to Budget Direct, while leaving the key in the car may have been unintentional, leaving the key in the car for any period of time breaches the policy terms. It is also our understanding that you may not agree with the exclusions in our policy, however insurance is not designed to cover every eventuality.”

The Broadbents also unsuccessfully appealed to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

Regardless of where my keys were, this is theft, Mr Broadbent argued.

“Our car was parked in our driveway, not on the street. According to them, the keys were left unattended in the car. A car parked in someone’s garage shouldn’t be considered unattended, in my opinion.

This is no different from them (thieves) breaking into the house, grabbing the keys off the bench or out of a handbag and stealing them.”

As Budget Direct told the Bulletin, “privacy considerations” prevented it from commenting on the Broadbents’ insurance claim.

As a result, we believe it is reasonable to expect that customers take appropriate steps to prevent or at least not contribute to their cars being stolen in order to keep insurance affordable for as many customers as possible.

According to our PDS, if you leave your car unattended for any period of time, you must always lock it and not leave the keys inside or on the car. Please always read your PDS before taking out cover, regardless of the insurer you are with.”