In the morning, the driveway is empty. There is no broken glass, no forced lock, and the key is on the kitchen table, where you left it the night before. The police officer takes your report, and on the insurer's claims line comes the question that makes many owners' stomachs tighten: “How was it taken if there is no trace?” As a broker, I see that it is this sentence that causes the most anxiety around thefts of cars with keyless entry – and according to a statement by MABISZ (the Hungarian insurers' association), some insurers are again seeing a rise in car thefts, so the question is not a theoretical one. This article looks at how a keyless car disappears without a trace, what the conditions of a casco (comprehensive motor insurance) policy require in such a case, who has to prove what, and what you can do in advance so that there are fewer points of dispute in the claim.
- In signal-amplification (relay) theft, the thief passes the key's signal on to the car, so there is no broken glass and no forced lock – but for theft of the vehicle, Hungarian casco conditions typically require not signs of forced entry, but that the security devices were in operation and that you can hand over every key and start card.
- It is up to you to substantiate that the insured event – the unlawful disappearance of the car – occurred, chiefly by means of the police report and the investigation; a ground for exemption (for example gross negligence, or a key left in the vehicle), however, must be proven by the insurer under Section 6:464 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) – and an insurer relying on an exclusion must likewise prove the facts underlying that exclusion.
- Disputes are decided not by the absence of traces but by the keys: a missing or previously unreported spare key, the result of the key examination and the condition of the security devices – which is why key discipline and the level of protection agreed when taking out the policy are worth more than any argument after the event.
How is a car stolen without a trace?
The essence of a keyless system is that the car unlocks and starts when it detects the key's signal nearby. In signal-amplification theft – known as relay theft – two devices are at work: one, at the door or window of the house, picks up the signal of the key lying inside, and the other relays it next to the car, as if the key were there. The car opens its doors, the engine starts, and many models do not stop while being driven even if the key's signal is lost; the thief later programs a new key or breaks the vehicle up for parts. So there is no break-in, because from the system's point of view the car was opened in the normal way. Other methods exist too – programming a key through the diagnostic port using a device connected to the on-board network – and these often leave some kind of trace, such as a removed light unit or a prised-open trim panel. The fact that relay theft leaves no trace stems from the nature of the system, not from any fault of the owner – according to the wording of the conditions reviewed, the claim therefore does not start from a worse position than a theft involving a break-in, although in such cases the insurer's investigation is typically more thorough.
What do casco conditions require for a theft claim – and what do they not?
It is worth looking at what a Hungarian set of conditions actually says. Under the special casco conditions reviewed here as an example, it is an insured event if the vehicle is stolen or taken away for unauthorised use and is not recovered, “provided that all security devices were being operated as intended at the time of the act”. In a theft claim, the policyholder or the insured person is obliged to hand over the vehicle's keys and electronic start cards to the insurer when reporting the loss; and the copying, loss or destruction of keys must be reported without delay. The same conditions treat a key, spare key or start card left in the vehicle as a breach of the loss prevention obligation and as a ground for exemption – here, too, the burden of proof is on the insurer – and after a key is lost or a lock is damaged, the insurer does not cover the theft risk until the professional replacement has been proven. These conditions do not require signs of forced entry for theft of the vehicle – nor, in the conditions reviewed, for theft of parts, where again what matters is that the security devices were in operation; such a trace requirement tends to appear in some insurers' clauses on baggage and on theft from the vehicle. Another insurer's conditions may differ, so it is worth finding the definition of theft and the clauses on keys in your own contract; the general logic of key clauses is explained in the theft and robbery article.
Two further points matter particularly for keyless cars. One is the level of protection: depending on the vehicle's value and type, insurers require an immobiliser, an alarm and, for higher values, a tracking device – for some keyless cars, additional electronic protection is expected when the policy is taken out, and whatever the policy requires must be working when a claim arises. The article on high-value premium cars covers this in detail. The other is the number of keys: the conditions ask for “all” keys. If a spare key was lost years ago and you did not report or replace it, that is the real source of the dispute – not the absence of traces. In such cases, several sets of conditions allow the payment to be reduced or refused; the extent differs from insurer to insurer.
Who has to prove what?
The answer to the question is yes: you have to substantiate that the insured event occurred – that the car was taken unlawfully – as with any insurance claim; under the general rule of civil law, the burden of proof lies with the party making the claim. The means of doing so, however, is not a sign of forced entry, but the police report, the investigation, the complete handover of keys and documents, and the fact that the security devices were working. The insurer carries out checks: it may have the keys examined by an expert (the memory of a modern key stores usage data, so it can be seen whether the key was used at the time of the theft), request telematics data from the manufacturer or from the vehicle's app, and obtain camera footage. This is not suspicion but the usual course of settling theft claims – insurance fraud is a real risk, and these investigations also protect honest clients.
In the other direction, however, the burden lies with the insurer. Under Section 6:464 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), the insurer is released from paying if it proves that the loss was caused unlawfully, intentionally or through gross negligence by the policyholder, the insured or a relative living in the same household as them – the burden of proof is the insurer's. “No trace” on its own proves nothing: it does not show that you left the key in the car, nor does it show that the protection was not working. If the insurer rejects the claim, it must give reasons; a “theft without a trace” justification on its own can be challenged, with reference to the wording of the conditions. A possible delay in reporting the claim, under Section 6:453 of the Civil Code, has legal consequences only if it makes it impossible to establish a material circumstance – but with theft, every hour counts for the investigation, so the police report and the claim notification should not be put off.
How does a keyless theft claim proceed?
- Police report – this is the first step, even before the insurer. Say that the car has keyless entry and that you have all the keys; ask for camera footage from the area to be secured.
- Reporting the claim on the insurer's claims line within the deadline set in the conditions – the primary route for reporting is the claims line, the online portal or the app.
- Handing over the keys, start cards, registration certificate and certificate of title – in full. If anything is missing, explain the reason and the background, rather than letting it come to light during the claim.
- Key examination and data requests – the insurer's investigations, as described above; it is worth saving the data from the vehicle's app and the time of the last locking yourself.
- Suspension or termination of the investigation – the authority's decision where the perpetrator is unknown; the conditions typically link payment to this or to an outer time limit, so settling a theft claim can take weeks or even months.
- Payment – the value at the time of the loss, less the deductible – some conditions set a separate, higher deductible for theft, while the conditions reviewed make no distinction; for a financed car, payment goes to the financing company in line with the assignment. If the car is recovered, the claim is settled as physical damage and missing parts.
A calm, step-by-step order of what to do is set out in the step-by-step guide after a theft.
What can you do before taking out the policy and in everyday life?
Protection against relay theft is cheap and boring: keep the key in a signal-blocking (Faraday) pouch, away from doors and windows; if the car allows it, switch off the keyless function, or use a key that goes into sleep mode when it is not moving; a steering lock, a lock for the diagnostic port, a tracking device – the last of these may also be required by the insurer. When taking out the policy, check that your level of protection matches what the conditions require, and look at the theft deductible. Keep track of your keys: how many were made and where they are, and if one is lost, report it without delay and have the lock coding changed – this is one of the points where a keyless claim can get stuck. If the claim gets stuck or the insurer rejects it on the grounds that there are no traces, I help where I can: in interpreting the wording of the conditions, in requesting the reasons and in drafting the objection – acting on your behalf, along the orderly route for disputed casco cases. Individual claim disputes are not decided by the MNB (Hungary's central bank and financial supervisor) but by the Financial Arbitration Board (PBT) or the courts. The insurer pays only for what is an insured event under your contract – but, according to the conditions reviewed, the fact that a theft left no trace does not remove it from the insured events.
Have a question specific to your own car's theft cover? book a free 20-minute consultation →
Sources
- Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk., Act V of 2013) Section 6:453 – reporting the insured event; Section 6:464 – exemption of the insurer, burden of proof
- MABISZ (Hungarian insurers' association) – Some insurers are already seeing a rise in car thefts
- MABISZ – FAQ: What level of protection do insurers require before covering the theft risk?
- Special conditions for casco insurance of vehicles, JCKF29 (Hungarian insurer, example: definition of theft, handover of keys)
