They Claim 8 259 Euros After Their Car Caught Fire in Morocco, but Their Own Video Betrays Them

The couple was travelling through Morocco by car with their three children during the summer of 2017. On 27 August, smoke appeared in the vehicle while two children were still inside. Passers-by helped them get out, and the Moroccan emergency services intervened.

That same day, the travellers reported the incident to their Dutch insurer, Achmea. They claimed to have lost clothing, bags and audiovisual equipment in the incident. An expert assessed all the reported damage at 8 258.85 euros.

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In their initial account, the policyholders explained that the bags had been on the back seat, where the children were sitting, while electronic equipment had been stored in the glove compartment or near the passenger seat. They also maintained that they had no photographs or video of the smoke-filled car.

The video had been sent by the couple themselves

However, the insurer obtained images from the Eurocross assistance centre that the couple themselves had sent. These did not correspond to several of their statements, notes the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.

The policyholders then claimed that the luggage had been moved into the trunk and that they had not been allowed to retrieve it because the car had been declared beyond repair. But the trunk appeared intact in the images, and the situation seemed to be under control. No document from the Moroccan firefighters or the company that removed the vehicle came to confirm this new version.

For the judges, it had therefore not been established that the luggage had actually been damaged. The inaccurate statements had been made intentionally in order to obtain compensation to which the couple was not entitled.

Achmea refused any reimbursement, immediately terminated the travel insurance and entered both policyholders in its incident records for three years. Their registration in the external file accessible to other insurers was also deemed justified.

The couple had brought the case before the courts to obtain up to 3 000 euros, the limit provided for in their contract, and to have these entries removed. After an initial dismissal in September 2020, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal upheld the decision on 4 April 2023.

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The two policyholders were also ordered to pay 3 268 euros in appeal proceedings costs, to which additional costs may be added. The ruling specifies neither their nationality nor their origin.