Insurers will not cover loss of vehicle contents without forced entry

It is official, the signal from an electronic gate controller could interfere with your remote vehicle locking system.

Knowing this, and working out ways to avoid it, is particularly important because “most policies will not cover property stolen from your vehicle where there has not been forced entry. Other policies only cover property that is locked in the boot” warns Gari Dombo, Managing Director, Alexander Forbes Insurance.

Most manufacturers of car and gate remotes use a fixed frequency of 433MHz. If two remote controls operating on the same frequency are activated simultaneously and within range of each other, the signals they are transmitting can interfere with each other with the result that the vehicle may not lock when you expect it to.

Dombo says “I have actually tested this myself. My car does not lock when the gate remote is pressed.”

Unfortunately, this has been known to criminals for a while now.

“There have been a number of cases where people have had the contents of their cars, or even the whole vehicle stolen thanks to unknowingly leaving their cars unlocked” reports Dombo who advises people not to:

· Walk away from their car unless they have actually heard the car lock - or seen the light flicker confirming that the car is locked.

· Leave items in the car where they are visible to thieves.

Adding visible after-market security accessories, like a gear or steering wheel lock that may deter thieves is also a good idea.

Furthermore, vehicle owners can make “invisible security accessories, like electronic alarms or immobilisers, more visible by using manufacturer-supplied warning stickers” suggests Dombo.