Not upheld: policy cancellation and notification adequacy complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited trading as Quotemehappy.com

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M and Mrs M complained to Aviva about the cancellation of their motor insurance policy after Mr M was stopped by police for driving without insurance in May 2025. They claimed they had only intended to cancel the automatic renewal from 22 May 2025 (when a new policy was to begin) but that Aviva had cancelled the policy itself with immediate effect on 23 April 2025 in error. Aviva maintained that Mr M and Mrs M had deliberately cancelled the policy with immediate effect through the online portal and had received adequate notification via email. The ombudsman found that the online cancellation process was clear with distinct options, that Aviva's evidence supported that Mr M and Mrs M selected immediate cancellation, and that the notification email adequately informed them of the cancellation. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the online cancellation process was clear, with distinct options for cancelling before or from the renewal date. Aviva's evidence, supported by their senior product owner and IT expert, showed that Mr M and Mrs M selected the option to cancel the policy with immediate effect. The ombudsman found no evidence of system error and concluded that Aviva provided adequate notification via email, despite the subject line not mentioning cancellation. While sympathetic to the distressing situation, the ombudsman determined that Aviva was not at fault.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website