Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T claimed under his commercial insurance policy for wiring deterioration discovered in May 2023 in an area previously affected by a pipe burst in August 2019. Liberty declined the claim, attributing the deterioration to gradual wear and tear rather than the water damage. Mr T sought refund of £1,850 spent on repairs and argued Covid-19 delays affected the wiring condition. The ombudsman found that while the original water damage was documented and deterioration was evident, Mr T failed to provide evidence establishing causation between the water escape and the later wiring deterioration. The complaint was not upheld as Mr T did not meet the burden of proving an insured event occurred.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while there was documented damage from the original 2019 water escape and evidence of wiring deterioration in May 2023, Mr T failed to provide sufficient evidence that the deterioration was caused by the water damage rather than wear and tear or other factors. The ombudsman noted that low insulation resistance can be caused by multiple factors including moisture, but neither party provided a definitive report confirming causation. Since Mr T bore the burden of showing an insured event occurred, and he did not provide evidence linking the deterioration to the water escape, Liberty acted fairly in declining the claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website