An insurance company has been ordered by a court to pay a couple €14,722 after they were robbed of a fur coat and diamond ring while in Russia.

Tonio and Maria Aleksandrovna Cachia told the that they travelled to Russia in December 2006 so that Mrs Cachia could visit her family.

Before they left Malta, Mrs Cachia told her husband she wished to take her fur coat and diamond ring with her to show to her family. She added it was customary to wear one's finery for Christmas and the New Year.

Mr Cachia said he had already taken out a policy for travel insurance but he had asked his insurance broker to check that the fur and diamond ring were insured. He was told that for cover to be provided he had to take out a home contents insurance, which he did.

On their arrival in Stavropol, Russia, the Cachias' suitcase, which contained the fur coat and diamond ring, was stolen. But Lloyd's Malta Limited refused to make good for the loss suffered by the Cachias on the basis that they had been negligent and also because their insurance covered Europe but did not include Russia.

Mr Justice Meli dismissed the insurance company's pleas as being unbecoming to such a prestigious company.

There was no doubt that Russia was part of Europe and it also formed part of the Council of Europe. No evidence was produced to show that the Cachias had been negligent.