Holiday insurance claim- help!

[bluepeterentry]

I recently had my bag stolen on holiday. Thankfully nothing too personal but total value about £500.
I tried to report it to the local police (no option to report online) but the first one didn't accept lost property claims, the second had no English speaking officers and when I got to the third one there was a four hour queue in blazing sunshine, which would likely have meant me missing my flight- although I didn't complete the report, I did check in and they took a note of my name etc before I realised how long the wait was. Each station was at least a 30 minute walk apart so I was running out of time.
I reported it to the security in the park it was stolen from but they had no way of logging the report.
At this point I contacted the insurance company and explained what had happened. They advised that I could still put in the claim as long as I explained why it hadn't been reported to the police. I don't have a name but know the date and time of the call.
I submitted the claim as soon as I got home, explained the above information and (after 4 weeks) got an email to say my claim had been rejected as I hadn't reported it to the police. I phoned and emailed to explain that I'd been told it would be ok to submit as long as I explained the efforts made and asked them to reassess the claim. After another week I have been notified that my claim has been rejected again because I didn't report it to the police.
I've logged a complaint and been told they will be in touch in due course regarding this but is there anything I could/ should have done to try to resolve this?
Any advice would be much appreciated!

Which country was this was this and if not obvious what is the language.

What, exactly, do the insurers terms and conditions say about reporting theft to police?

You are probably going to need that police reference number. Is there any reason you couldn't report it after you got home?
Unfortunately if all you were told was that you could still submit a claim, that phone call with your insurer doesn't mean anything. You weren't incorrectly advised and the chances are you weren't speaking to a claims handler, just a customer service adviser.
Do you have any cover on your home insurance for personal possessions? Chances are they will also require it to be reported to the police, but it's worth checking the policy wording.

Thanks, it was in Spain.
I specifically asked the adviser if I could still put the claim in despite the lack of police report and she said yes, as long as I explained the attempts I made.
I was told by the police that reports can only be made in person at a station, there was a way of doing it online but you then had to visit the station to confirm the info etc. so couldn't do it other than in person.
the wording states: Report the Theft or Loss of Your Gadget to the Police, local to where the incident
occurred, within 24 hours of discovery and obtain a crime reference number in
support of a Theft claim and a copy of the police report

If the adviser had said I absolutely needed a police report I could have tried to work round it 😬 so frustrated!

@bluepeterentry ask the insurance for a recording of the phone call. You can do it as a SAR. I fully expect them to not have a record as the advisor said it was ok.

Thank you, I hadn't thought of that! I'll contact them again now and make that request. If I hadn't had that phone call I'd have chalked it up to my mistake!

Did the adviser say you can still put the claim in or that they would still pay out on the claim if you explain? There is a huge difference in an insurers eyes to these statements. Anyone could tell you to put the claim in still, they never said it would be paid out.

I can’t remember the exact wording but I asked if my claim would be affected by the lack of police report and she said as long as I explained why it was missing it would be ok. I guess that could be ambiguous

It sounds like rubbish circumstances but I very much doubt you are going to get a pay out. You can continue with your complaint and they will pull the phone recording but the chances are, you were simply told you could still put the claim in without the police reference number, which was correct information. Unless you were told the claim would be paid out regardless, you haven't got a leg to stand on. You don't know your insurer until you need to make a claim, that much is always true.

Had bag stolen on a Spanish island from inside a hire car, included passport & some other items

Cancelled bank cards

Made a police report & received crime number at the police station

Had to have this before could get appointment at embassy for emergency passport

Didn't claim on insurance

It was a real time consuming headache & will never go back there again ! (Evidently it was not locals that were stealing)

Have travelled all over the world &this was very disappointing 😞

Your insurance will probably not pay out without the crime number

Just revisiting this- I lodged a complaint and they've upheld it, citing their delays and service failings. I assume they've now listened to the phone call!
They've offered me £50 compensation ( claim value was about £500) and confirmed I can still escalate to the ombudsman even if I accept it.

Can anyone recommend what they'd do? Do I ask for more compensation, accept it and escalate or accept and drop it? I've replaced the most valuable things that were stolen already and appreciate that their t and Cs do state I need a police report, despite what the call handler said.
Any advice would be appreciated!