Not upheld: poor claim handling, delayed service, inefficient communication, alleged rude conduct complaint against UK Insurance Limited trading as Churchill (UKI)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V claimed on his motor insurance policy with UKI for damage to his parked car. He complained about delayed handling, poor communication, and alleged rudeness from an overseas manager. UKI acknowledged failures in its service, including broken promises to call back and a five-week delay before involving solicitors, and paid £500 compensation. Mr V subsequently suffered a seizure while reading a UKI letter and was diagnosed with a lifelong illness, which he attributed to stress caused by UKI's poor handling. The ombudsman found no evidence that UKI's handling caused the illness and determined the £500 compensation was reasonable redress for the acknowledged service failures.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that UKI made mistakes in claim handling including broken promises to call back and a five-week delay before involving solicitors. However, the ombudsman found no evidence beyond Mr V's assertion that UKI's handling caused his illness, and was not persuaded the handling was the cause. The ombudsman accepted that £500 compensation was reasonable redress for the acknowledged service failures, distress, and inconvenience caused over several months, as this aligned with similar cases of comparable seriousness.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website