The owner of a 2022 Ford Mustang GT who said it was damaged while avoiding a kangaroo will not be covered after the vehicle was found to have hit speeds of almost 200km/h. 

The complainant lodged a claim after a person who drove with his consent had been involved in an accident at around 4:30am on August 6, 2023.  

The driver said he was forced to swerve off a bend to avoid hitting a kangaroo and ended on the other side of the road.  

Allianz acknowledged that the car had been damaged but said this was due to the driver’s reckless actions, particularly speeding. It did not allege that the vehicle was intentionally damaged.  

The insurer referred to findings from its forensic crash investigator who observed data from the vehicle’s systems that showed it had accelerated at high speeds prior to the incident, reaching a maximum of 198.8 km/h - more than three times the road speed limit.  

The investigator reported that by the time it had reached the road where the crash took place, it had been travelling at 119.6 km/h. 

They also said that the driver did not stay on the bend but rather drove off the road and onto the footpath before going onto the oncoming lane and crashing into a fence.  

The investigator’s report concluded that the vehicle had been “driven in a reckless manner... with a total disregard for all other road users”.  

It was not able to confirm if a kangaroo had entered the road but said if the driver had been “travelling within the 60km/h speed restriction, the claimed event would not have taken place”.  

The insured did not respond to the investigator’s findings, but said the claim should be accepted because he was not responsible for the incident and provided “a correct representation of the unfortunate event”.  

Allianz highlighted that the driver and the complainant’s accounts of the event contained “significant inconsistencies” and that the reckless driving exclusion applied as the car was driven with the insured’s consent.  

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority ruling noted that the forensic information contradicted the driver’s testimony that he “may have hit the accelerator in his panicked state following the kangaroo appearing on the road”.  

It said the driver “must have known the danger of driving as he did but nevertheless did so with a reckless indifference to the potential consequences (which eventuated)”. 

“While it cannot be conclusively established whether a kangaroo did come from the bushland onto the road, excessive speed that the vehicle was travelling at meant that [he lost control of the vehicle],” the authority said. 

“Had [the driver] been travelling at the speed limit, it is likely that he would have remained in control of the vehicle and been able to stop the vehicle.

“In the circumstances, I am satisfied he knowingly or intentionally disregarded the risk associated with his excessive driving speed and there was a high probability of causing loss or damage.”  

Click here for the ruling.