Not upheld: poor service on insurance claim handling complaint against UK Insurance Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G claimed on his property insurance with UKI following water damage to his home in July 2025. The claim progressed poorly with repeated delays, missed deadlines, and communication failures, prompting three separate complaints. UKI acknowledged the poor service and paid £1,550 compensation but declined further disturbance allowance. The ombudsman upheld that UKI failed Mr G but found the compensation already paid was fair and reasonable, and rejected additional disturbance allowance as the home retained essential facilities and no additional costs were demonstrated.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged UKI failed Mr G through delays and poor service that should have been resolved much earlier. However, the £1,550 compensation already paid was determined to be fair and reasonable for the upset caused over the four-month period. Disturbance allowance is intended to cover unquantified extra costs of living in a disrupted home, not to compensate for emotional impact, which is addressed through compensation payments. Since the home retained essential facilities and no additional costs were demonstrated, further disturbance allowance was not warranted.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website