Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Tradex Insurance Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P claimed on his commercial motor insurance policy for a motorhome valued at £35,000 that was destroyed by fire. Tradex settled the claim at £10,000 less excess, applying the policy's limit of indemnity which capped cover at £10,000 for all vehicles except one specified vehicle. Mr P complained that he had not been warned of this limit when adding the motorhome via the online portal. The ombudsman found that while Mr P was not notified at the time of adding the motorhome, the policy limit had been clearly explained to him at renewal and he should have reasonably understood it applied since he had not paid an additional premium for the motorhome as he had for the specified vehicle. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr P was not notified when adding the motorhome that it would not be fully covered, the policy limit had been clearly explained to him at renewal. The ombudsman reasoned that Mr P should have been reasonably aware that he had not paid an additional premium for the motorhome as he had for the specified vehicle that was outside the limit. Therefore, Tradex's settlement was made fairly and reasonably in keeping with the policy's terms and conditions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website