Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Howden UK Brokers Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained to Howden about its handling of a water damage claim to his barn reported in October 2020 and its subsequent service. Howden did not immediately refer the claim to underwriter A, instead asking Mr D to obtain expert inspection to clarify the cause of damage. Due to Mr D's personal circumstances, the surveyor's report was not completed until November 2022 and not provided to Howden until June 2023. Howden then delayed sending the report to A until February 2024, at which point A initially threatened to cancel the policy but ultimately agreed to maintain it on restricted terms. The ombudsman found that Howden's actions in 2020 were reasonable given the unclear nature of the damage, and that although the delay in sending the report was longer than expected, it did not materially affect Mr D's position as the policy remained in force.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Howden did not decline the claim in 2020 but rather asked Mr D to obtain expert inspection to determine the cause. Based on Mr D's initial description suggesting building material failure rather than a one-off insurable peril, a claim would likely have been unsuccessful even if referred to A at that time. While Howden delayed sending the surveyor's report to A (from June 2023 to February 2024), this delay did not materially affect Mr D's position, as A ultimately maintained the policy on restricted terms regardless. The ombudsman noted that Mr D could have relied on the surveyor's report when answering renewal questions in June 2023, and that Howden appropriately negotiated with A to keep the policy in force.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website