The owners of a stolen 2016 Audi Q7 will have their claim paid after a dispute body overruled their insurer, which had denied the claim arguing the complainants left a key within the “immediate vicinity” of the car at the time of the theft.

The victims lodged a claim on November 20 last year, under their comprehensive motor policy, after a pair of burglars entered their garage and drove off with the vehicle.

Video footage showed the crooks went into the garage after taking the door remote from another vehicle that had been parked on the driveway.

Auto & General said its policy excludes cover for thefts if the key has been left “within, on, or in the immediate vicinity of the car when it is left unattended for any period of time”.

The complainants had two sets of keys for the vehicle, one of which was kept on a shelf in the garage hidden behind a curtain amongst other items and boxes.

The insurer said the owners provided conflicting reports about the key’s location after the claim was denied, compared to earlier accounts.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) rejected Auto and General’s argument, saying that the claimants’ accounts had been “reasonably consistent” and supported by the information shown in the insurer’s claim file notes from November last year.

AFCA said the crux of the dispute was whether the key was in the “immediate vicinity” of the car, a term the policy had not precisely defined.

The ruling relied on the Macquarie dictionary definition that defined it as “having no object or space intervening” or being “nearest or next.”

AFCA said that based on the available evidence, the key could not be interpreted to be in the “immediate vicinity” of the vehicle.

“I accept the key may have been in the proximity of the [insured vehicle], but I do not accept the key was nearest or next to the [vehicle] with no object or space intervening,” AFCA said.

“The key was not left on a table or hanging on a hook in plain sight nearest or next to the [vehicle] or within the [vehicle] itself which one might reasonably consider being within the immediate vicinity.

“Rather, the information shows the key was out of sight, hidden and some distance from the [vehicle] with several other items such as prams, boxes and tyres between.”

The decision mandated that Auto & General accept the claim and cover costs associated with the complainant’s losses.

The insurer was also required to pay interest from December 24 last year until the payment date if the vehicle was assessed as a total loss and the insurer provided a cash settlement.

Click here for the full ruling.