A boat owner who sought compensation for his stolen vehicle and trailer has lost his claims dispute after he was found to have contributed to the loss by storing the items on a nature strip without appropriate security measures.  

The complainant lodged a claim on October 13 last year, after the boat and its trailer had been taken by thieves sometime around 1:30am. 

Club Marine denied the claim, saying that the pleasure craft policy excluded losses where the insured failed to abide by “reasonable precautions against theft” measures outlined within the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

The insurer says the PDS clearly stipulated that watercraft items should be placed in a locked garage or yard with an active alarm system. 

The PDS also acknowledged that in instances where the vehicles and trailers are left unattended in the open, the items should be secured using “a combination of chains and locks or applying a wheel locking device on the trailer.” 

The insurer’s investigator, referred to as MB, says the boat had been stored on its trailer on the nature strip outside the man’s home. MB reported that the trailer had only been secured by a small padlock and that there had been no commercially manufactured locking devices or wheel locks installed on the trailer at the time of the theft. 

The complainant says the insurer’s decision had been “unfair and unjust”, noting that he had only had one garage, which had been used by his car, and “had no choice” but to park the boat on the nature strip due to a lack of spacing.  

He says he wished to install a post on the nature strip to chain the boat to it as a security measure but could not because the strip was the local council’s property. 

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was unconvinced of the claimant’s assessment and agreed that Club Marine was entitled to decline the claim as he had failed to uphold the policy requirements.  

“The available information indicates that the stolen items were taken from the nature strip out the front of the complainant’s home and were not secured by a locked gate or similar preventative measure at the time of the loss,” AFCA said. 

“The failure to secure or store the stolen items in the manner required contributed to their loss. It is unfair to require the insurer to meet the claim in these circumstances.” 

Click here for the ruling.