Not upheld: claim handling - failure to complete effective and lasting repair complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs B complained that Aviva Insurance Limited failed to complete an effective and lasting repair to her drain following a claim in April 2023 for water in her cellar. Aviva attended 12 times between April and August 2023, completed repairs, and concluded remaining water was likely groundwater. In June 2025, Mrs B submitted an independent drain report identifying damage and claimed this proved Aviva's failure, requesting payment for repair costs. The ombudsman found no evidence linking the damage identified in 2025 to Aviva's 2023 repairs, noting Aviva's CCTV inspections would likely have detected damage at the location where repairs were performed. The ombudsman also found Mrs B provided no evidence of her claimed multiple contact attempts to report an ongoing problem, contrary to Aviva's records. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman examined whether the independent drain report provided evidence that Aviva failed to complete effective and lasting repairs in 2023. The report identified drain damage at 12.21m, while Aviva's repair notes indicated work was completed at 13m and 4m of the same pipe. The ombudsman reasoned that Aviva would likely have identified any existing damage at 12.21m during its inspections, particularly given it completed repairs at points either side. Critically, the report did not provide expert commentary establishing that the damage would have been present two years earlier, was identifiable at the time, or was the likely cause of the cellar water. Regarding Mrs B's claim of multiple contact attempts, the ombudsman found no supporting evidence (such as phone records) and noted that Aviva's claim notes contained no record of further communication from Mrs B after August 2023. The ombudsman concluded that Mrs B bore the burden of presenting evidence to support her complaint and, in its absence, could not find Aviva acted unfairly.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website