A man whose car was stolen from outside his home overnight has lost a claim dispute after a spare key to the vehicle was found still inserted into the ignition when it was recovered.

The man, who held a policy which covered theft with Auto & General, admitted the spare key had been left in the car but said as this was unintentional it would not be fair to deny his insurance claim.

Auto & General said leaving a key in the car while unattended breached policy conditions and this entitled it to decline the claim.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) concluded the key was the method used to steal the car because the insurer’s assessor detected no sign of forced entry and no sign of the ignition being manipulated, and the car was found with the key still clearly in view.

“The insurer has provided photographs to support this and they show no signs of forced entry or ignition manipulation and show the key in the ignition,” AFCA said. "The insurer is entitled to deny the claim.”

AFCA said breaching a policy condition by accident was not a valid defence.

“I acknowledge the complainant may not have been aware the key had been left in the car and it was a mistake however, the outcome is fair because the complainant breached a policy condition by leaving the key in the car even if it was unknowingly and a mistake.”

The policy stated “you must ensure that you remove all keys from within the car when it is left unattended for any period of time. If you do not we may refuse to pay a claim.”

“The complainant breached policy conditions by leaving a spare key in the car,” AFCA determined.

See the full ruling here.