Living in what I at least perceive as a low crime area, I absolutely love my Blizzard white '13 PIP with the darkest possible tint on the windows. The other day I made the drive into town, 15 miles, ran several errands back and forth, and back home. My total fuel burn was .49 gallons, and I never turned the car off the entire time. In the 4 or 5 times times I parked and was gone for a few minutes, the longest being 15 or so, the car was free to whoever wanted to steal it I suppose, but with the 'stat set at 72 degrees on a high 90's day, I didn't care. This down the mountain, around town, and back up (1200' vert) all in AC comfort, for .49 G fuel usage, will be my new story to tell Prius haters (yes, they are out there, hard to believe I know), especially my mountain neighbors. I almost never lock it anyway so this is no change, other then to keep it ON, and I don't know if anyone noticed or cared when it fired up now and then.
With a note on the window, lest some do-gooder doesn't understand that the A/C is still running despite the car being off and smashes the window to resque the dog. TO OP: If you are all worried about a casual thief taking it for a joyride, you could always lock the door, even though its running.
This might sound like a "cute" thing to do but if it ever IS stolen while it is running and unattended, your insurance will likely laugh at you.......and pay you NOTHING. Can you afford to pay cash for a new car ?? Likely won't be so cute then.
You can tape streamers onto the fan grills to visually see the air condition/vent is on, that's what I do to know if the vents are being powered by the panels.
Do you have anything to back up that claim (pun intended)? My insurance policy covers theft of my car. It doesn't limit it to whether I was stupid or made the theft easy. There are no "ifs" "and" or "buts" in the policy. If my car is stolen, they can laugh, but they have to pay. A quick Google search indicates that "running car with keys stolen = no coverage" is a common myth: Will your insurance company cover a stolen car if you left your key inside? Jeff Ryan, CPCU® CIC® CLU® ChFC® • May 06, 2017 The short answer to this question is simply… Yes. Comprehensive (or Other than Collision) coverage explicitly covers Theft or Larceny, without any “ifs”. As Craig Anderson asserts, I have never read an auto policy that includes such an exclusion, nor have I ever heard of a loss such as described in this question, ever being denied. This is no excuse for stupid behavior, but bottom line… your insurance company will cover a stolen car with your key inside.
Let's start with your own "evidence"........which does NOT mention having the vehicle actually running and the doors unlocked. Do you have anything that actually addresses that exact situation ??
I have basic liability on the car, bought used for cash, I wouldn't bother my insurance company over it. One thing about the dog inside...mine turned off the AC! Same with the 4 way flashers, I'm surprised he hasn't figured out the power windows, locked or not.
My own evidence is my insurance policy which states that I am covered for theft. Period. There is no exclusion for negligence or even gross negligence. If you represent that your insurance policy indicates an exclusion for "key in the car running" then I stand corrected. Otherwise, it appears I am the only one with evidence.
Happened to me in college. I had a POS car that had difficulty starting, so I left it unlocked and running while I went in to buy some beer. I figured it was safe because it was broad daylight and I'd only be gone a couple of minutes. The car was under my parent's insurance policy and the agent told me how stupid I was, but the company paid off without any delay.
