Not upheld: claims handling, service quality, car valuation, compensation adequacy complaint against AXA Insurance UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs G complained about poor service from AXA following a traumatic head-on car accident involving her children. She disputed the car valuation, sought higher compensation for service failures, and claimed entitlement to a premium refund. AXA accepted several service errors including misadvising about legal expenses cover, delayed responses, and an erroneous interim payment deduction, offering £450 compensation. The ombudsman found AXA's service errors were appropriately investigated, the compensation was reasonable given the distress caused, the car valuation was fair, and no premium refund was due. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that while AXA made several service errors (misadvice about legal expenses, delayed responses, asking customers to collect the car, erroneous interim payment calculation), these were investigated appropriately and the firm took complaints seriously. The ombudsman found that compensation of £450 was reasonable to reflect considerable distress and significant inconvenience over weeks or months, and that the overall outcome of claims handling and complaints process was delivered promptly and showed good service overall. The car valuation of £10,597 was fair as it properly accounted for the comparable vehicle having less mileage.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website