Not upheld: claim refusal and cover denial complaint against HCC International Insurance Company Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6238640 of 2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00. claim refusal and cover denial complaint against HCC International Insurance Company Plc. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6238640 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | HCC International Insurance Company Plc |
| Product | Other regulated product |
| Claim type | claim refusal and cover denial |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | No remedy ordered. The ombudsman declined to award compensation for distress or frustration as N is a limited company and cannot experience these. The ombudsman noted that HCC could have replied sooner to some correspondence but found no evidence of significant delays causing significant impact. |
Summary
N, a design and build company, complained about HCC's refusal to provide cover under its professional indemnity insurance policy for a counterclaim arising from a renovation project dispute. The client refused final payment and issued a counterclaim alleging delays, overcharging, and misrepresentation regarding a building warranty and grant. HCC declined cover, arguing the allegations did not relate to the defined professional services of design or specification. The ombudsman upheld HCC's position, finding that the counterclaim allegations as framed did not fall within the policy's definition of professional services and therefore no cover was triggered. Although HCC experienced some delays in responding, the ombudsman found no evidence of significant impact and declined to award compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the counterclaim allegations did not fall within the policy's definition of professional services, which was limited to design or specification, supervision of construction by others, feasibility studies, technical calculations, and surveying. The allegations about warranty information, grants, overcharging, and installation of items supplied by N did not constitute negligence in the performance of defined professional services. The policy is a professional indemnity policy requiring a negligent act in the performance of specified professional services, and the counterclaim as framed did not meet this requirement. While there were some delays in HCC's responses, these did not cause significant impact and did not change the substantive position.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| HCC International Insurance Company Plc, all decisions | 117 | 47% |
| Other regulated product, all decisions | 52,408 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website