Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Yoga Insurance Services Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-3965116 of 2023-03-31T00:00:00+00:00. Service failures generally complaint against Yoga Insurance Services Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-3965116 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2023-03-31T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Yoga Insurance Services Limited |
| Product | Motor insurance |
| Claim type | Service failures generally |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | No further remedy required. Yoga had already: (1) refunded Mr B's policy premiums from the date he sold his car; (2) refunded the £20 change fee; (3) waived the cancellation fee as a goodwill gesture; (4) confirmed that the policy cancellation would not count against Mr B for future insurance purposes. |
Summary
Mr B purchased motor insurance through Yoga and attempted to update his policy with new car details on 8 June 2022 via the online portal. The system completed the change process and charged a £20 fee, but failed to actually update the car details. Mr B did not check the documentation sent to him and only discovered the error on 22 June 2022 when he reviewed his policy. When Yoga attempted to add the correct car details, the insurer declined cover based on its underwriting criteria regarding the car's age. Yoga refunded Mr B's premiums, the change fee, and waived the cancellation fee. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Mr B had been instructed to verify the details and that the insurer's decline was a legitimate underwriting decision.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while Yoga's system failed to process the change correctly, Mr B bore responsibility for checking the updated documentation as explicitly instructed by Yoga. The ombudsman could not hold Yoga responsible for not identifying the failed change when clear instructions were provided to verify details. Regarding the insurer's decline, the ombudsman confirmed this was a legitimate underwriting decision based on the insurer's confidential criteria, which is standard practice across the insurance industry. The ombudsman noted that Yoga's remedial actions (refund of premiums, waiver of fees) were fair and reasonable responses to the error.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga Insurance Services Limited, all decisions | 10 | 40% |
| Service failures generally, all decisions | 32,767 | 33% |
| Motor insurance, all decisions | 24,036 | 35% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website