contents insurance victoria australia
Should I tell my insurance company that I may have left my window unlocked?
My rented flat was broken into and contents stolen last week. There was no damage done, and the only way I can think they got in was if I hadn’t locked the window properly, which is likely. Should I tell the assessor? Can they refuse to pay out my claim if I’ve been slack with security? The police ‘could not determine’ the point of entry. I’m in Victoria, Australia. Thanks.
usually, under the terms of an insurance policy, the definition of “burglary” is”theft following violent and/or forcible entry”.
so this might just be “theft” and may be limited to a specific value.
it really depends on the fine print of your insurance.
the assessor should ask you about this anyway.
1) grab your policy wording
2) if it’s a listed events cover, take a look at what listed events are covered and then the exclusions.
3) if it’s an all-risks or blue ribbon type policy that covers even for accidental damage (ie EVERYTHING is covered unless there is a specific written exclusion, then you need to only look at the exclusions.
an insurer can also knock out a claim if due care was not taken. to determine this, a question to you would be – if you stuff WASN’T insured, would you have taken better care to regularly lock your windows? bet you would.
sorry i can’t be more specific – it’s hard to advise if i don’t know the wording.
Goodbye Victoria and PICO National Network – Interview with Diran Lyons Part 1