Upheld: unfair claims handling, poor service, delay in claim resolution complaint against UK Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A complained about UKI's handling of her Motability car insurance claim following third-party damage in March 2025. UKI's appointed repairer initially completed unsatisfactory repairs, which were subsequently rectified by May 2025, leaving Miss A without her car for several weeks. Although an independent engineer confirmed the final repairs met acceptable standards, UKI failed to follow up on agreed actions and provided poor communication throughout the process. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that UKI's service failures caused significant distress and inconvenience, and directed UKI to pay £650 in compensation, rejecting Miss A's claims for consequential losses related to a car engine failure and Motability scheme changes.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman upheld the complaint because while UKI was not unreasonable in arranging rectification works, the delay in completing repairs and returning the car caused significant inconvenience over several weeks. Although the independent engineer confirmed repairs were ultimately completed to an acceptable standard, UKI failed to follow up on agreed actions and provided poor communication. The ombudsman found that UKI should mitigate distress and inconvenience beyond what is typically expected in insurance claims. The £300 original offer did not adequately reflect the service failures, and £650 was consistent with FOS award bands for significant distress and inconvenience over multiple weeks.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website