Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Ripe Insurance Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T purchased boat insurance from Insure4Boats in April 2019 and subsequently emailed to confirm coverage for multiple moorings, but received no response. After the policy renewed in April 2020, Mr T discovered it did not cover all moorings and cancelled it, requesting a refund of premiums paid. The ombudsman found that while Insure4Boats provided poor service by not responding to the email, it had provided clear information about mooring exclusions in the Important Information document sent with the quote. As this was a non-advised sale, Mr T was responsible for reviewing the documents, and since he received benefit from the cover for other mooring types, no refund was warranted.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although Insure4Boats provided poor service by not responding to Mr T's email, the firm had provided clear information about mooring exclusions in the Important Information document sent after the online quote was requested. As this was a non-advised sale, the onus was on Mr T to review the documents to ensure suitability. Even if the information had been unclear, Mr T suffered no loss because he received the benefit of cover for other mooring types during the period he paid premiums, so a refund would not be fair.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website