A complainant whose jet ski and trailer were stolen while stored at a shopping centre car park will not be covered after a dispute ruling found he failed to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent the theft. 

The complainant says the theft occurred on October 14 while the vehicle and trailer were stored at a parking lot outside his repairer's shop. He says he checked on the items a few times a week after storing them at the location on October 3. 

The policyholder says the trailer and jet ski were placed at the car park because he had been in the process of moving homes. He says he secured the items with a lock and felt the location was safe because it was near a main road and other expensive boats.

Club Marine declined the claim, saying that its policy excludes losses when a vehicle is left unattended without reasonable precautions to prevent theft.

The insurer says the trailer had been left at the "unsecure" parking lot for 11 days, noting that the insured did not know who owned the lot and there was no CCTV monitoring of the items. It also highlights that despite the trailer being fitted with a towbar lock and hook lock, it had been easily moveable. 

Club Marine says the claimant showed "a lack of prudence and caution" and failed to take reasonable steps to protect the items from the risk of theft.

The insured acknowledged the that he took a risk by leaving the vehicle at the lot but argued that he took reasonable precautions. He says the policy requirements were stringent and meant there was a low probability of any claim succeeding. 

But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was not convinced by the claimant's arguments, saying that the exchanged information showed that he "recognised but recklessly courted the risk of theft" by leaving the vehicle in a public place without proper theft protections.

AFCA notes that the policy required items left in the open air to be fixed with a chain of locks or a wheel locking device to prevent movement. It says that the locks used by the complainant did not immobilise the wheels or prevent the jet ski and trailer from being rolled away.

The ruling also acknowledged that the items had been "unattended" as there had been no one to prevent the theft when it occurred. 

"At the time of the theft, neither the complainant nor someone else was able to observe any attempt to interfere with the stolen items," AFCA said.

"It is not in dispute that the types of locks used by the complainant do not immobilise wheels or stop the trailer from being rolled away.

"Therefore, by utilising the locking mechanism the complainant adopted, leaving the items mobile and unattended, the complainant recklessly courted the risk of theft.

"Accordingly, I am satisfied the insurer is entitled to deny the claim."

Click here for the ruling.