Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against Lexham Insurance Consultants Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G held a motorcycle policy with LIC that was due to renew on 11 September 2021. When he inquired about coverage for a trip to Turkey, LIC incorrectly advised that the policy covered travel to any EU country, including Turkey. On 9 September, after reviewing the policy documents, Mr G discovered Turkey was not covered. LIC offered to cancel the renewal and refund the premium, but Mr G rejected this, claiming insufficient time to find alternative cover. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that LIC's offer provided fair redress and that Mr G had over 24 hours to source alternative cover through online comparison websites.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that LIC provided incorrect information but found that LIC's offer to cancel the renewal and refund the premium, made on 9 September at midday with over 24 hours before the policy lapsed, constituted fair redress. The ombudsman reasoned that Mr G had sufficient time to source alternative cover using online comparison websites and that the responsibility fell on Mr G to search for alternative cover once he became aware the existing policy did not meet his needs. The ombudsman noted that while inconvenient, this did not mean LIC should cover additional costs incurred by Mr G's decision not to search for alternative cover.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website