Upheld: unclear and misleading communications; failure to disclose material information; improper policy administration complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5999008 of 2026-05-15T00:00:00+00:00. unclear and misleading communications; failure to disclose material information; improper policy administration complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5999008 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-15T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited |
| Product | Life / income protection |
| Claim type | unclear and misleading communications; failure to disclose material information; improper policy administration |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Aviva must pay the H Trust: (1) the December 2021 surrender value plus 8% per year simple interest from December 2021 until settlement, less any surrender value already received; and (2) a refund of all premiums paid since December 2021 plus 8% simple interest from the date each payment was made until settlement. |
Summary
Mr H complained that Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited provided unclear and misleading information about the impact of Brexit on his whole of life insurance policy whilst he resided in France, and forced him to surrender the policy in 2024. Aviva had lost regulatory permissions to conduct business in France post-Brexit and obtained legal advice confirming that discretionary policy features (such as review-based premium adjustments) constituted insurance transactions prohibited under French law. However, Aviva failed to communicate this clearly to Mr H after its initial uncertain January 2021 letter, continued sending indexation update letters in 2022-2023 suggesting changes were possible, and did not inform him until May 2024 that a failed review would result in mandatory cancellation. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that Mr H should have been informed by December 2021 and would have surrendered the policy then, and ordered Aviva to pay the December 2021 surrender value plus interest and refund all subsequent premiums with interest.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
While Aviva's legal interpretation of French law restrictions was reasonable and properly advised, it failed in its duty to communicate clearly and timeously with Mr H about the implications for his policy. The January 2021 letter was appropriately uncertain given Aviva's own uncertainty at that time, but Aviva should have provided further clarification once it became certain of its position (by late 2021 at the latest), particularly as other customers received such notification. The continued sending of indexation update letters in 2022-2023 without clarifying that such changes were no longer possible created a false impression that the policy could continue to be administered normally. Had Mr H been informed by December 2021 that a failed review would result in policy cancellation with no further cover, he would more likely than not have surrendered the policy at that time rather than continuing to pay premiums until 2024.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, all decisions | 2,444 | 23% |
| Life / income protection, all decisions | 10,405 | 21% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website