Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against QBE UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs E complained that QBE unfairly declined her motor warranty claim for an intercooler replacement. QBE declined the claim on the basis that corrosion caused the failure, which is excluded from coverage under the policy. The Ombudsman examined whether QBE had evidenced corrosion as the cause and whether corrosion was covered by the policy. Finding that QBE had reasonably demonstrated corrosion caused the failure through a photograph and repairer's comments, and that the policy explicitly excluded corrosion as an external cause, the Ombudsman concluded the claim decline was fair and reasonable. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that QBE had evidenced on the balance of probabilities that corrosion caused the failure, based on the photograph and repairer's comments about the deteriorated bracket. The policy terms explicitly exclude corrosion as an external cause not covered. Therefore, QBE's decline was fair and in line with the policy terms. The Ombudsman noted that Mrs E's engineer's alternative explanation was unclear and no other cause of failure had been substantiated.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website