Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C complained about how Zurich Insurance handled her building insurance claim for a bathroom leak, including concerns about alternative accommodation, repair quality, contractor payment, and lack of information about using Zurich's own contractors. Zurich acknowledged it did not handle the claim as well as it should have and offered £400 compensation. The ombudsman found that while Zurich made errors in communication and claim handling, it was not responsible for the quality of repairs by Miss C's own contractor, and the alternative accommodation issues could not have been foreseen. The ombudsman upheld Zurich's £400 compensation offer as fair and reasonable, finding it appropriately acknowledged the distress and inconvenience caused by Zurich's handling errors, and did not require any additional compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Zurich made errors in claim handling, including unclear communication and premature payment to the contractor, these errors did not warrant additional compensation beyond the £400 already offered. The ombudsman determined that Zurich was not responsible for the quality of repairs carried out by Miss C's own contractor since Zurich did not instruct them. The ombudsman found Zurich's explanation for not offering its own contractor was reasonable given Miss C had already engaged her own contractor for initial works. Regarding the alternative accommodation, the ombudsman found Zurich could not have foreseen the issues and took appropriate steps once informed. The ombudsman concluded that £400 compensation was reasonable to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused by Zurich's handling errors.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website