Driver leaves behind key inside car, owner loses theft insurance claim

BENGALURU: A Bengalurean ended up losing a motor vehicle theft insurance claim of Rs 5.5 lakh after his driver negligently left behind the key of the SUV in the vehicle itself. A city consumer forum, which he approached, too dismissed the case stating that leaving a vehicle unlocked or with the key in it makes it prone to theft and the loss doesn't deserve to be reimbursed with insurance claim.

On the midnight of May 25, 2013, driver KB Srinivas stopped his Tata Sumo on the service road at Agara Silk Board, HSR Layout to attend nature's call. He returned to find the SUV missing and lodged a complaint with Madiwala police regarding the theft.

Following a probe, police declared the SUV untraceable and issued a certificate, leading its owner Nagendra, 38, of Kamakshipalya to apply for insurance claim of Rs 5.5 lakh from Oriental Insurance Company Limited, the insurer.

Investigation by an insurance surveyor established that driver Srinivas had left the key in the SUV before going to attend nature's call and this act of negligence resulted in easy theft and, therefore, this case did not qualify for sanctioning an insurance claim. This report infuriated Nagendra, who approached the Bengaluru 3rd Additional Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on May 23, 2015 with a complaint against Oriental Insurance Company.

Nagendra's lawyer argued his case, while the insurance company's attorney pointed to the incident of leaving the key in the vehicle as a severe lapse on the part of the insured vehicle user. He further stated that the customer realised the fault and made a futile attempt to establish with police investigators that the driver had the key while the SUV was lost.

After five years and eight months of litigation, the judges of the city consumer forum noted that leaving behind the key in the vehicle amounted to negligence on the part of the driver and as the careless act unknowingly facilitated the theft, it doesn't warrant insurance claim. The court dismissed the complaint on February 6, 2021.