will insurance pay out ? advice please about a burglary

[goldenbolls]

my ex wife was burgled last night, burglers gained entry through back gate then broke pain of glass in the back door to enable them the put their hand through and turn the key which was left in back door, my wife was on a night out with a friend for around 5 hours. house was ransacked and they took her gold and jewellery.

is it my ex wifes fault for leaving the key in the back door ? the bank santander are her insurers and she has only 3 reciepts for 3 necklaces which were bought over years, apart from her gold there was 2 mobile phones taken and damage to front of washing machine and damage to flooring where washing machine was pulled out from under kitchen cupboard.

she is panicking now that insurance will not pay her for her gold some of which was bought recently and over the years by myself and others though as i say she has only 3 receipts. she is going to check photos also of her wearing gold bracelets ets and i also have some pictures on my computer stored.

thanks

[ummmm]

The door was locked so they broke a window. That's breaking in regardless of where the key was.

When I was burgled I was still paid for the things I didn't have the receipts for.

[woofgang]

key left in door? iffy IMO

[chrissa1]

No Insurance company would expect receipts for every piece of jewellery one owns. However, if she had a lot of expensive stuff, it would have been advisable for her to itemise things.

[vivandorron]

I go along with ummmm. The door was locked even if the key was still in the lock. No different to a cylinder lock which can be opened from the inside, once a glass pane in the door is broken.....Pictures can be most useful to help prove a claim.....I had an aunt and uncle who had a lot of rare Royal Doulton items which were kept displayed in a glass cabinet, but they didn't have receipts for them. Fortunately they did have a photograph of themselves which I had taken of them, sitting on a settee with the cabinet visible in the background.... Insurers paid- up without any dispute.

Ron.

[goldenbolls]

sorry wolfgang i dont get your meaning ?

[merciasounds]

I think leaving keys in the door is six of one, half a dozen of the other - leave them in and they can break glass and turn the key as what happened here - leave keys out, and a skeleton key could be used, and I shouldn't think receipts are expected.

[Hopkirk]

We always leave the key in our back door, so we can get out if there is a fire.
No way would I leave it locked with no way to unlock it in thick smoke.

[vivandorron]

Merciasounds.....I have always understood that 'skeleton keys' do not exist; except in the minds of fiction writers. If not, why haven't all locksmiths got them.?

I know of a case where a friend was locked-out because she had left her keys on a hall table. She called a locksmith who then produced a telescopic fishing rod type item and hooked the keys back through the letterbox. He admitted to having his fingers 'crossed' at the time, because if he had dropped them it would have been a case of bursting open the door with the problem of repairs to both lock and door frame.

Good point Hopkirk.

Ron.

[redcrx]

as hopkirk says it is advisable to have keys in or very near to lock to enable escape.

insurers will often accept photos of jewellery. has she not got any bank statements or credit card bills to prove the purchases?

[woofgang]

my point is that if you can see the keys in the lock through the window, then that might be said to encourage a break in and therefore not taking due care.

[flip_flop]

Woofgang - there is absolutely no chance that an insurer would try to repudiate because a key was left in the lock.

[woofgang]

flip flop do you speak from professional or legal knowledge?

[jno]

my insurers definitely require that keys be left out of sight and out of reach of doors and windows. This may not be the case with goldenbolls' ex, but she should check the small print of her policy to see. (Actually, if there is any such requuirement it should probably have been spelt out when she took out the policy; but it was still her responsibility to read it.)

[flip_flop]

woofgang - yes.

[goldenbolls]

thats good to hear flip flop, thanks people for ur advice.

[gina32]

my insurance states that the key has to be out of the door or the insurance is void!

[woofgang]

comments goldenbolls?

[JackDanielsU]

working in insurance, as long as the items that have been stolen were accompained by forced or violent entry there is no chance the claim would be declined

as there has been a broken window, there will be a police report covering this, there is no dispute

What people should be careful of is that valuables such as jewellry etc are FULLY covered, some policies will have a limit of £1500 per item for example

And yes photos of items are very welcome by insurers.

[goldenbolls]

yes woofgang, here is my reply /comment, firstly im not working in insurance and know absolutely nothing about it hence my question in the first place you see ;-)

flip flop and jack daniels gave good advice and seem to know what they are talking about from expirience .

have spoken to ex wife and she has lots of old and recent pics with her jewellery on and some reciepts . she did have 2 pieces valued at £ 1800 so i will tell her to check this out as the loss adjusters have not been in contact with her as yet.

thanks for your replies

[goldenbolls]

btw the insurance is covered by santander so if anyone can shed any more light on this i would be gratefull. i have not seen the small print so cannot say if it will be disputed or not.