Not upheld: claim valuation and item recovery complaint against Advantage Insurance Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M claimed on his motorcycle insurance policy after his bike was damaged in an accident in Ireland in May 2025. Advantage valued the bike at £14,389.03 based on industry guides and market comparables, but Mr M believed it was worth £14,500-£15,000 and refused to settle. Mr M also complained that Advantage failed to return bike accessories and personal items. The ombudsman found Advantage's valuation was fair and reasonable, supported by industry guides and market evidence, and that Advantage made reasonable efforts to return the missing items, with the impasse caused by Mr M's refusal to engage with the firm on delivery arrangements. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the policy definition of market value and checked Advantage's valuation against industry guides and market comparables. The engineer's three guide valuations (£13,950, £13,981, £13,558) averaged £13,829.67, and with appropriate adjustments for accessories totalled £14,389.03, which fell within the range of advertised prices (£13,499-£14,250). Mr M provided no evidence or reasoning to support his claim that the bike was worth more. On the missing items, Advantage made reasonable attempts to return them to the address on Mr M's policy documents and contacted him multiple times to arrange re-delivery. The impasse resulted from Mr M's refusal to engage with Advantage on delivery arrangements.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website