Having read "Key clause in motor claim" (26 September, Insurance Times), does the principal ombudsman live in Cloud Cuckoo land? When will we ever get the sensible situation where cars are locked, with keys removed whenever they are left unattended by the driver, if the ombudsman makes these kinds of rulings?
The ombudsman seems to argue that the driver made a conscious decision to leave the keys in the car, because he was only going to be a few seconds, and because he could see through the glass front of the shop, and return quickly if required to do so.
Surely if he made this value judgment, as suggested, he must have been aware of the risk, however small, of a theft taking place. And once he admits this, he is guilty of negligence in making a poor and ill-informed judgment, when any reasonable person would have taken the keys out and locked the car.
As for the street being quiet - the quiet ones are always the worst.
It appears that the low value of the car was a factor in the decision to leave the keys in; but the car's value obviously grew in importance the moment it was stolen. If it wasn't worth locking, it wasn't worth claiming on.
And how can the ombudsman define all policyholders suffering from occasional lapses of attention as a defence for an unreasonable deliberate action? This driver was either negligent and foolish, or he took a deliberate risk.
In either case he must have known that he must take reasonable care of his property, even if this was not spelled out in the policy with regard to keys.
And what of the other possible risks that stem from leaving keys in an unattended car? What if it is then stolen and the thief or joyrider kills someone? Where is the ombudsman's encouragement of drivers who leave their keys in the car now?
Let him tell some grieving parent that it is OK for a car driver to have occasional lapses, or make ill-informed judgment of risks.
D C Sharp
Retired insurance broker
Oswestry
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