Please Steal My Bike

I know it's daft, but here's my story. I left my bike on my drive, outside my garage, having started it. I'd left my gloves inside the garage, so I reopened the door, and went in to pick up my gloves. A white male aged about 30 with short hair, jumped onto my bike and rode off. I haven't seen it since.

My insurers have refused to pay out, saying I didn't take reasonable care, and that there's a clause on the contract, which, says they don't have to pay out if I leave the key in the ignition, or on the bike, and it gets stolen.

I accept that the key was left in the ignition, and I also accept that the bike was running. However, I cannot see that this is fair. I left the bike unattended for literally no more than 30 seconds, and I was just really unlucky. Do I have any real remedies?

Name and Address Withheld

Answer

I'm sorry, but you're out of luck on this one. According to your policy, if your key is in the ignition, and your bike is stolen, you cannot recover under either a fully comprehensive policy or a third party, fire, and theft policy.

Riders should also be aware that if your bike is covered as a bike that stays in a garage, and it is stolen from close to home, you might not be covered for theft unless it is actually in the garage.

Bear in mind that there is very little in the way of consumer protection that applies to contracts of insurance, and the documents tend to be written in a way which discourages people from reading the documents.

Also, when you are asked for all your details, make sure you give absolutely everything, and check your proposal form.

I get queries on an almost weekly basis from people that have told their insurers one thing, but their proposal form says something else, they haven't corrected the mistake, and when their bike is either stolen or involved in an accident, there is a flat refusal to pay out.

As a general rule, if you are in dispute with your insurers, you should go to the Financial Services Ombudsman, rather than going to court, because insofar as the court is concerned, very strict rules of insurance law apply, whereas the Financial Services Ombudsman can take overall conduct into account, which might be useful.

Andrew Dalton