IRDAI License Number: IRDAI/INT/ISNP/2022/250
There are always things which are not in our control. Unexpected events can ruin our future progress and lead us to grave financial loss and misery. This is where insurance comes into picture which helps us to get protection against such unanticipated risk and adversities. Although insurance also acts as a means to protect us financially and provides indemnity to such situation but there are certain conditions and clauses mentioned in the schedule of policy known as exclusions. The insurers carve away coverage for risks which are not willing to insure and term certain situations as exclusions in the coverage of insurance policy. Ideally, insurance exist to hedge against the risk of uncertainty, on condition that all necessary precautions are taken to avoid happening of such events. Exclusions also exists to prevent cases of frauds and misuse of coverage of insurance policy. One of the very important clause of money in transit and safe insurance policy is the Keys Clause.
Keys clause can be found in the exclusions section of the insurance policy. The clause talks that the policy does not provide coverage for loss of money from strong room or safes following the use of keys by the intruders. The condition of the policy says that whenever the premises is not guarded or left unattended after the business hours the keys to the premises need to kept safe away from the premises and in custody of authorized person who is responsible to keep the key safe in a secure place. If the insured or the authorized person lives at the premises then also after the business hours the keys need to deposited in a secure place which is away from the vicinity of strong room or safe.
The exception to the key clause is only when the keys of the premises are obtained by the intruders by threat or violent means.
The clause highlights that it is the responsibility of the insured to ensure he or she has taken utmost precaution to protect the premises. The keys clause also acts to prevent the insurance companies for false register of claims. If the money has been stolen from the premises without use of violent or threating means then the insurance company will reject the claim. The insurance company would argue that it is the negligence on part of the insured which has led the robbery to happen resulting in financial loss.
Rajesh is a mobile sim card distributor. Every day he sends his employees to collect money from the retailers. The money collected is stored in a safe in his office at the end of the day as the banks close by the time his employees report back to the office. He has to wait till the morning to get the money deposited in the bank. One morning Rajesh reports to the office in the morning and to his utter shock he finds the office door is open and all the cash stored inside the safe is also missing. He calls the police and also informs the same to the insurance company. The investigation reveals there was no forceful entry to access the office premises and the safe. The office and safe had two set of keys and both were in custody of Rajesh. The other bunch of keys were misplaced by Rajesh which unfortunately fell in wrong hands. The insurance claim was rejected as it was negligence of part of Rajesh which led to theft and loss of money.
