The financial services ombudsman has rejected a motor policyholder’s premium refund request after his insurer ruled out covering his car if he installed a rooftop tent.  

The man contacted Open Insurance last February to discuss adding the tent, and the insurer told him its underwriting guidelines excluded any vehicle with a “slip on camper/tent or camper conversion”.  

The man installed the tent and cancelled his policy in March, but he then sought a full refund of premiums paid, arguing the insurer had not made the exclusion clear in documents provided to him aside from a modification questionnaire he completed when the policy was bought in July 2022.  

In its dispute decision, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority says the initial and renewal certificates of insurance gave no reminder of the man’s previous answers to the questionnaire.  

However, the provided product disclosure statement required him to contact the insurer regarding any modifications or changes made.  

“While I accept both certificates are not clear regarding the extent of the information the insurer requires the complainant to review and update, in this particular case, the policy clearly prompts the complainant to contact the insurer to notify it about any modifications,” an AFCA ombudsman said.

Once the insurer was informed of the policyholder’s intentions to add the tent, it told him cover would no longer be offered.  

AFCA agrees the insurer should have provided a copy of the policyholder’s responses to underwriting questions, to allow him to assess whether the policy provided the cover he sought.  

But it says no loss occurred, given the man had access to the policy’s benefits while insured and cancelled before he fitted the tent.  

AFCA also considered the man’s argument that the tent is an accessory rather than a modification.

It disagrees, saying the tent altered “the qualities and the characteristics of the insured car to a degree”.  

See the ruling here.