Not upheld: claim declined - breach of policy condition complaint against AXIS Specialty Europe SE trading as AXIS Specialty London

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs E, representing the estate of Mr I, complained that AXIS Specialty Europe SE unfairly declined a buildings insurance claim following a leak at an unoccupied property. AXIS declined the claim on the basis that the unoccupancy clause had not been met, specifically that the water system had not been fully drained as required. Mrs E argued she had drained the system to the best of her knowledge and that a stopcock failure was the cause of the leak. The ombudsman found that while Mrs E's drainage procedure (turning off the stopcock and running taps) appeared reasonable, it would not have fully drained the supply side of the system as the policy required. Although a stopcock subsequently failed, there was insufficient evidence this caused the condition breach. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mrs E believed she had drained the water system, the procedure she followed (turning off the stopcock and running taps) would not have fully drained the supply side of the system as required by the policy. Although the stopcock subsequently failed, there was insufficient evidence to show this failure caused the condition breach or was the primary cause of the damage. The ombudsman concluded that Mrs E bore responsibility for ensuring full compliance with the unoccupancy condition, and AXIS reasonably relied on the breach of this condition to decline the claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website