Not upheld: communication clarity and renewal pricing transparency complaint against INTACT INSURANCE UK LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs C complained to Intact Insurance about communication and pricing at their 2025 pet insurance renewal. Intact had made a £70 error at the 2024 renewal and notified Mrs C in April 2025 that it would correct this when calculating the 2025 premium, which would be £720. A reminder letter sent after the September 2025 renewal caused Mrs C to misunderstand the premium increase. Additionally, Mrs C questioned whether a claim for pet cleaning should impact the premium, given Intact's information specifically mentioned illness-related increases. The ombudsman found Intact's communication broadly met regulatory standards, the timing of the reminder letter was unhelpful but Intact's apology was sufficient, and Intact was entitled to consider all claim types when calculating premiums. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Intact provided clear, fair and not misleading information up to the point of renewal, meeting regulatory requirements. While the timing of the reminder letter after the renewal was unhelpful and should have been sent before renewal alongside the renewal documents, the letter's content was reasonably clear when read in context with the April 2025 letter. The ombudsman rejected the argument that the claim should not impact the premium, finding that while the information specifically mentioned illness as a driver of increases, it did not exclude other types of claims. The premium increase itself was not disputed by Mrs C and therefore was not considered.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website