Not upheld: claim handling delay and service provision complaint against Aviva Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained about Aviva's handling of a car insurance claim following an incident in October 2024. The claim was initially reported to broker B, who referred it to an accident management company that later closed the file. Mr B subsequently contacted Aviva directly in July 2025 complaining that his claim had not progressed. The ombudsman found that Aviva only became aware of the claim in September 2025 and acted swiftly and fairly from that point onwards, including appropriately placing the claim on temporary hold. The ombudsman clarified that the broker B is a separate regulated entity and Aviva cannot be held responsible for its service, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman clarified that while B acted as the broker in arranging the policy, B is a separate regulated business and Aviva is not responsible for B's service. The complaint could only consider Aviva's claim handling from September 2025 when Aviva became aware of the claim. From that point, Aviva acted swiftly and fairly in understanding the claim circumstances, providing options, and appropriately placing the claim on hold pending resolution of a related finance agreement complaint.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website