Gold Coast surfer says insurance claim knocked back after Burleigh van theft because car keys were in Surf Lock vehicle lockbox

A Gold Coast man whose van was stolen while he surfed has lashed out at an insurer who he says knocked back his claim – because he followed police advice about securing his keys.

A GOLD Coast man whose van was stolen while he surfed has lashed out at an insurer who he says knocked back his claim because he stashed his keys in a lockbox promoted by police.

Coolangatta draftsman Andrew Grantham said: “I feel like I’ve been completely let down. You put your faith in these insurance companies to cover you.”

Andrew Grantham in the spot his van was stolen from at Burleigh Heads. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“When you make a claim you’re just treated like dirt. I felt like I was treated like the criminal. Like it was my fault the car got stolen. And for that I hate the insurance company more than the actual scumbags who stole my car,” he said.

Mr Grantham, 49, said he and his wife parked their 2018 Toyota Hiace at Burleigh Beach on The Esplanade about 7.45am on March 29 last year.

They returned about 9am and found thieves had accessed their Surf Lock device and made off with the vehicle, which has not been found.

An example of one of the vehicle lockboxes.

“There was a lot of hopes and dreams in that vehicle. We had our weddings ring in it and we were doing up this van to go around Australia in,” Mr Grantham said.

He said the theft of his “pride and joy” was reported and a claim was lodged with Budget Direct hours later – but was refused.

“They said they had a vague wording in their policy that it’s your responsibility when you leave the vehicle to remove all the keys from in or within the vicinity of the vehicle,” Mr Grantham said.

“It’s been a year and a half of fighting. They said I should have just left my keys on the beach.”

Mr Grantham provided a screenshot of an online Queensland Police article titled “Secure your car keys while at the beach” dated January 1, 2017, which promoted “Project Surf Lock”.

Another article titled “Don’t let shady people steal your sunshine” dated September 9, 2016 advised motorists: “Consider using a surf lock attached to your car.”

A Queensland Police Service article promoting vehicle lockboxes for use at the beach.

Mr Grantham said he felt misled and wanted to “warn as many others as possible so they don’t get burnt”.

“I don’t want this to happen to someone else,” he said.

“There’s lots of people using these devices at the beach and they’ve got no idea (a claim could be refused).”

Mr Grantham was a Budget Direct customer for five years, but has switched to NRMA.

A Budget Direct spokesman said the claim was “declined due to the client breaching the conditions of cover”.

“We make sure our claims process aligns with regulatory guidelines. This is in addition to our decision criteria that we use to ensure consistency and alignment with what is fair and reasonable,” he said.

The spokesman pointed to a finding by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority which stated Mr Grantham had to have “removed keys from within, on, or in the immediate vicinity of the car”.

RACQ, one of Queensland’s largest insurers, was asked for its stance on the use of vehicle lockboxes

“It’s important to note different insurers are likely to have different policy conditions and consumers should check the cover provided by their own policy,” spokeswoman Kirsty Clinton said.

“RACQ requires members to exercise reasonable care/precautions for the safety and security of their vehicle.

“Each claim is assessed on its individual circumstances but in general, we believe that the use of a locked lockbox-style device would be unlikely to result in the decline of a claim for theft.”

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