$700 deductible was punishment enough, says Saskatoon woman who lost key and had car stolen
A Saskatoon woman whose car was stolen after she accidentally dropped a spare key inside of it says any additional punishments for people like her would be overkill.
"We had a $700 deductible [from SGI]. That was enough to penalize [us]," said Sharaya Kennedy, whose car was stolen from her street in the city's Caswell Hill area.
Kennedy's comments come as SGI says it wants to lobby the Saskatchewan government for legislative changes allowing for extra consequences for drivers who leave keys or fobs in cars that are stolen. That could include anything from police fines to increased insurance penalties.
"Everything is on the table," said Earl Cameron, SGI's executive vice president of the Auto Fund.
The Saskatoon Police Service, worried about a recent spike in stolen vehicles, is all for it.
"We welcome any help we can get from the province or SGI," said police Chief Clive Weighill.
Worried about locking toddlers in car
Kennedy says she kept a spare key in her purse out of a fear that her toddlers would end up locked in her running car, and that she must have dropped the spare inside her car before her it was stolen in March 2016.
When it was returned by police two and a half weeks later, all of her car possessions — a stroller, children's seats, a battery warmer — were gone, replaced with syringes, beer bottles and other people's clothes. The thieves also added about 1,000 kilometres to her odometer.
"It hurt us enough to pay for our stroller, and the $700 deductible, and being without a car for two and a half weeks," said Kennedy.
"It hurt enough that we will be very diligent not to ever have our car stolen again."
Mixed reactions
Cameron admits the early reaction to SGI's strong rhetoric on punishment has been "split".
"Everyone has an opinion on it. [But] I think everyone agrees: Why are people leaving keys in their cars? That's just a high-risk behavior."
Kennedy agrees that people should be encouraged to keep their keys on them. But she said the process of filing a claim with SGI was no picnic either.
"If your car is stolen and you're dealing with SGI, you do feel like you're under a lot of criticisms, like you're under investigation," Kennedy said.
She added she'd like SGI to carefully consider whether keys were left behind accidentally when assessing a claim.
Gov't has final say on changes
Cameron conceded SGI does need to be cautious about penalizing someone who just leaves their keys in their vehicle for a second, only to have it stolen.
And any change would need legislative approval before becoming law.
However, he noted several provinces have fines for drivers who leave keys in their cars.
Saskatoon police estimate between 60 and 65 per cent of stolen vehicles had the key or key fob inside at the time.
Weighill said four deaths over the past two years have been caused by stolen vehicles with keys left inside by the owner.
