Not upheld: unclear information regarding claims impact on pricing and policy rating complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that despite his claim being deemed non-fault, he was penalized with higher premiums from other insurers, contrary to what Aviva had told him. Aviva stated the claim would not affect his premium with Aviva, which proved accurate, but failed to clarify this was specific to Aviva and not industry-wide practice. The Ombudsman found Aviva's pricing was correct and that different insurers legitimately use different rating approaches for non-fault claims. The Ombudsman upheld Aviva's £150 compensation as fair and reasonable for the unclear communication but declined to require price matching with other insurers.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Aviva's statement that the claim would not affect the premium was accurate for Aviva's own policy, but Aviva failed to clarify this was not industry-wide practice. Different insurers have different risk appetites and rating approaches. The Ombudsman cannot review other insurers' pricing decisions and can only assess Aviva's conduct. The £150 compensation adequately addresses the distress and inconvenience caused by the unclear communication, as Mr S may have proceeded with the claim regardless had he received clearer information.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website