A Langley, B.C., couple moving to Winnipeg, Man., whose U-Haul with all their possessions inside was stolen, is on the hook for replacing everything on their own because they say their insurance policy won’t cover the loss.
John and Carol Dyck stopped at a hotel in Abbotsford, B.C., on June 21 and parked the vehicle outside. When they woke up the next morning it was gone. The U-Haul was later recovered by police but everything inside was gone.
The couple had a tenants insurance policy for their home in B.C. and made a claim with their insurer, BCAA, but it was rejected.
“First of all I felt let down,” said John Dyck.
The couple received an email from BCAA which states:
“Regrettably, your loss does not fall within the scope of coverage provided by your policy. We understand that the cause of this loss was from a theft of your personal property, that was in the process of being moved outside the province of B.C. to Manitoba in a U-Haul truck,” the email states.
“Your tenants insurance policy does not insure loss or damage when your personal property is no longer being kept on premises and you are moving outside the province of British Columbia.”
Dyck said his wife visited the insurer prior to their move, explaining they planned to keep their insurance until they arrived in Winnipeg. Dyck said no one told his wife about the exclusion at the time.
“They should’ve flagged that in bright, red colours at the point in which we signed the agreement and my wife Carol went to the agent in the insurance office and spoke with them and very specifically asked for coverage to be during the period for April through until we had moved to Winnipeg,” he said.
A BCAA spokesperson said in an email to CTV News: “BCAA’s Home Insurance covers personal property while in transit if you are moving elsewhere in BC.”
When asked by CTV Winnipeg why the couple wasn’t informed prior to their move, the spokesperson said BCAA is “looking further into this and will contact the couple directly.”
The Insurance Bureau of Canada said residential insurance policies do vary between companies and encourages people to discuss their coverage on a regular basis.
“Most home, condo or tenant insurance policies cover your personal property while in transit, typically to another location within Canada for a certain period of time or until your policy expires. Whatever comes first,” said Rob de Pruis, director of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s western region.
“It’s important before you move to review your insurance policy or have a conversation with your insurance representative to make sure that you have appropriate coverage in place.”
U-Haul said its SafeMove and SafeTow policies cover damage to a customer’s possessions from collision, fire, windstorm, and overturn of the truck, but not theft.
The company encourages customers to check their homeowner’s or renter’s policy in advance of their moves.
