Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against SCOR UK Company Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D and Mr F complained that SCOR incorrectly accepted their legal expenses insurance claim for a neighbour nuisance dispute, misleading them into believing they had cover. SCOR accepted the claim and collected a £250 excess, but solicitors subsequently identified that the claimants were tenants rather than property owners, meaning the claim fell outside the policy's coverage. SCOR acknowledged the error, refunded the excess, and paid £150 compensation. The ombudsman found this remedy adequate, as while the four-week delay caused distress, no actual financial loss or legal detriment beyond the excess payment could be demonstrated, and the health deterioration was primarily attributable to the underlying neighbour dispute rather than SCOR's error.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged SCOR made a mistake in accepting the claim without verifying the claimants owned the property. However, the role is to put customers back in the position they would have been in had the mistake not occurred, not to punish the business. The four-week delay caused distress and inconvenience, but no actual financial loss beyond the excess (which was refunded with interest) or legal detriment could be demonstrated. The health deterioration was attributed primarily to the underlying neighbour dispute rather than SCOR's error, particularly as the claimants were already suffering health issues before the mistake was discovered.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website