Partially upheld: unfair claim settlement complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6157526 of 2026-05-07T00:00:00+00:00. unfair claim settlement complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6157526 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-07T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Aviva Insurance Limited |
| Product | property insurance |
| Claim type | unfair claim settlement |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Pay Mr H £1,760 plus VAT (£352 on production of VAT invoice) for ground floor bathroom repairs. Complete repairs to front door and porch, or alternatively pay Mr H £220 and £385 respectively if he arranges his own repairs. |
Summary
Mr H claimed on his property insurance following a fire caused by an electrical fault with his fridge in spring 2024. He complained about multiple aspects of Aviva's claim settlement, including incomplete bathroom repairs, damaged front door and porch, ineffective cleaning, insufficient payment for food and cleaning products, and deduction of a £5,000 emergency payment. The ombudsman partially upheld the complaint, finding that while Aviva could reasonably decline a full bathroom replacement quote, they should pay based on a reasonable quote for the scoped repairs (£1,760 plus VAT) rather than limiting settlement to their own contractor costs. The ombudsman rejected complaints regarding the front door and porch (repair was reasonable), food and products (insufficient evidence provided), soot-damaged items (disposed without inspection), and the emergency payment deduction (properly part of the claim).
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found it fair for Aviva to decline the full bathroom replacement quote as excessive, but unfair to limit settlement to Aviva's own contractor costs when those contractors could not perform the work. The ombudsman upheld the use of a reasonable quote for scoped works (£1,760) as the appropriate settlement. For other complaints, the ombudsman found Aviva's positions reasonable: repair rather than replacement for door/porch (as paying party's decision), settlement based on average costs for food/products (due to lack of evidence), no replacement for disposed items (due to lack of evidence for inspection), and deduction of emergency payment (as it was part of the claim, not separate).
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva Insurance Limited, all decisions | 5,075 | 27% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website