Unattended baggage equals insurance claim denial

Another’s man’s walk to the trashcan begets another man’s treasure — and a denied insurance claim.

A New Zealand traveler who left his luxury bag unattended for 15 seconds at a railway station cried foul after his travel insurer scoffed at his claim.

The man, who made a complaint to the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman in New Zealand this year, allegedly put his bag down and walked a few feet away to put trash in a bin, turned back and the designer bag was gone. It contained items worth $13,000, according to an article posted on the news site stuff.co.nz on Wednesday.

The man made a travel insurance claim but was denied because he had left the bag unattended in a public place, the article states.

IFSO also turned down his complaint, saying the “important aspect of his conduct was that he had turned away from his bags, and could not see them, even if it was only for a short period of time,” according to the article.