A motor insurer has won a dispute over its decision to deny a claim for a luxury car stolen while parked overnight in a street outside the owner’s home.

The BMW X3’s owner is a director with a company that renewed its motor policy via a broker with Prevail Insurance in March last year.

Prevail said its policy stated the car must be parked in an “individual garage” at the director’s home address between 10pm and 5am. An exclusion would apply if loss or damage occurred in that time period and the vehicle was parked outside within 500 metres of the home.

The car was stolen on June 14 last year at 4.46am. CCTV footage showed two burglars entering the director’s home to steal the BMW keys, and keys to a Mercedes owned by the man’s wife and insured with another company.

The BMW was later recovered damaged, and the company claimed for repair and hire car costs.

The company said a reasonable person would expect a car insurance policy to cover theft regardless of where the vehicle was parked, and the policy terms regarding parking were not clearly disclosed.

Prevail said it imposed strict policy terms because luxury cars are at high risk of theft if visible from the street while parked overnight.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority says the “policy terms regarding parking are unusual. However, they are clearly stated in the policy documents.

“The insurer provided the policy documents to the complainant’s insurance broker, which acted as the complainant’s agent.

“By doing so, the insurer clearly informed the complainant of the policy terms. It is fair for the insurer to rely on these terms.”

See the ruling here.