Upheld: Complaints handling failures complaint against Aviva UK Digital Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained about how Aviva handled a motor insurance claim made against him after he reversed into another car at a petrol station. Although Aviva's decision to settle the claim was reasonable given Mr M's liability and the engineer's damage assessment, Aviva failed to notify Mr M of the claim and broke its promise to allow him to pay the claim to preserve his No Claims Discount. Aviva acknowledged the service failure and paid £125 compensation, but the ombudsman upheld the complaint and increased the compensation to £200, finding that the original amount was insufficient to reflect the breach of promise and resulting detriment to Mr M.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Aviva did not act wrongly in settling the claim itself (as Mr M was reversing and liability was clear, and the engineer confirmed the damage assessment was reasonable), Aviva breached its explicit promise to notify Mr M and allow him to pay the claim to preserve his NCD. This failure to communicate and keep its promise caused Mr M detriment, as he could have arranged payment over time. The compensation of £125 was insufficient to reflect this service failure.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website