JAPANESE CAR OWNERS DO NOT HAVE TO PROVE CAR IS PROTECTED FROM THEFT

The Japanese Supreme Court has ruled that car owners are not legally required to show that they have done enough to make it difficult for their car to be stolen when they make an insurance claim for theft. The court stated that owners are only required to prove that a third party stole the car and that insurers are obliged to pay unless they can prove that the policyholder deliberately allowed the theft. The case related to a company president living in Fukuoka whose luxury car was stolen from his home in 2002 while he was overseas. A surveillance car showed the car being stolen in under a minute, which the insurer, locally based Aioi, said would have been impossible without a key.