Safety advice for online dating usually starts with meeting in public, because a first meeting at home carries risks that include theft. Insurance is a separate question that many people only meet after something has gone wrong. Home contents policies often exclude theft by a person who was lawfully in the home unless force and violence were used to get in. This guide looks at four published decisions of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the FOS guide to complaining. The decisions concern individual policies and facts, are not binding rules, and are used here to show how the wording and the evidence matter. It applies to the UK. It is general information, not legal or insurance advice. See also this site’s first-date safety checklist.
The exclusion that catches invited guests
In one decision (reference DRN-4494867) the insurer’s policy said there was no cover for loss or damage caused by the policyholder, their family “or any other person lawfully in your home” unless force and violence was used to enter the home. The ombudsman explained that this type of restriction is intended to ensure an insurer pays only where a home has obviously been broken into, and that insurers use it to avoid paying where a thief could get in and out without breaking in or causing damage.
The ombudsman set out the service’s approach to the words. Force is treated as some form of action or energy applied to something, so turning a handle or opening a door counts as force. Violence is where a thief uses a pick-lock or similar instrument to overcome a lock, even where there is no damage, because that is entry in a manner that is not customary. Entry through a door opened by the policyholder satisfies neither.
Two decisions on theft after an invitation
In DRN-4494867, a policyholder who advertised a watch for sale let two people into his home to view it. He said they used false identities and one walked out wearing the watch. The insurer declined the claim because no force and violence was used to enter. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint. The policyholder had given permission to enter, and nothing suggested they went beyond that permission, so the ombudsman could not say they were in the home unlawfully, and the false identities did not change that.
In DRN-5441416, a flat was entered by a stranger who had followed one of the policyholders to the door after a shared taxi, and valuables were later found missing. The policy exclusion also mentioned guests arriving through a home-sharing website. The ombudsman noted that once a policyholder shows an insured event such as theft, the insurer must show an exclusion can fairly apply. The evidence of what happened was unclear, so the ombudsman preferred the account in the police report completed within 24 hours of the theft to later recollections. That account said the person came in through the front door when it was opened. The complaint was not upheld.
When the wording points the other way
Other decisions show that the exact words matter. In DRN1670950, the policy excluded theft where neither force nor violence was used. The ombudsman said that wording needs only one of them, that the threshold for force is very low, and that the claimant did not have to show both. In DRN-4076330, the policy required “signs of damage caused by the thief” to get in, not force, and photographs showed damage to a garage door. The complaint was upheld and the insurer was told to reconsider, paying 8% simple interest on any cash settlement. These are burglary cases, not invited-guest cases, so they show how wording is read, not that an invited guest claim would succeed.
Practical points from the decisions
- Read the exact exclusion. Phrases such as “lawfully in your home”, “force and violence”, “force or violence” and “signs of damage” produced different results.
- Report to the police promptly. The ombudsman in DRN-5441416 gave weight to a police report made within a day. A clear, consistent early account matters more than a later reconstruction.
- Keep evidence. In DRN-4076330 the claimant offered further evidence such as a locksmith’s report. The ombudsman criticised the insurer for not considering the claim fairly.
- Do not assume permission was withdrawn. In DRN-5441416, the claim that the stranger had been asked to leave did not displace the insurer’s reliance on the lack of force, because the evidence was unclear.
This site’s guide to deciding when to contact the police covers reporting. For a theft the policy does not cover, a decision to invite a match home is also worth weighing against the advice to share date details with a trusted person.
If the claim is declined
The FOS says a complaint should start with the financial business, which should be given a chance to put things right, and that records of calls, emails and events should be kept. For most complaints a business has up to 8 weeks to investigate, and a complaint can be brought to the FOS within 6 months from the date on the final response. Policy wording is the first thing to check.
FAQs
Does a declined claim mean no crime was committed?
No. The decisions concern what an insurance policy covers. A theft can be a crime and be reported to the police even where the policy excludes it.
Do these decisions set a rule for every policy?
No. The ombudsman decides each complaint on its facts and the policy terms.
The bottom line
Contents policies commonly exclude theft by a person lawfully in the home unless force and violence was used to get in, and the Financial Ombudsman decisions read here supported insurers where the person was let in. Exact wording, a prompt police report and consistent evidence shaped the outcomes. Anyone concerned should read their own policy, report a theft promptly, and use the insurer’s complaints process and then the FOS if a claim is declined.
Sources
- Financial Ombudsman Service decision DRN-4494867 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)
- Financial Ombudsman Service decision DRN-5441416 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)
- Financial Ombudsman Service decision DRN1670950 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)
- Financial Ombudsman Service decision DRN-4076330 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)
- How to complain, Financial Ombudsman Service (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)