Not upheld: claims handling delay complaint against Alwyn Insurance Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained that Alwyn Insurance caused unreasonable delays in handling his car insurance claim following an incident where a third party vehicle reversed into him. Mr J requested to communicate by email only due to his occupation, but Alwyn required either a face-to-face or video recorded interview to obtain further details. Although Alwyn eventually offered a video recorded interview, Mr J believed this concession only came after he escalated to the ombudsman. The ombudsman found that Alwyn's request for an interview was reasonable and in line with policy terms, that Alwyn responded promptly to queries, and that Mr J's provision of only one day's notice was insufficient for arranging interviews. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that when a claim is made, it is reasonable for customers to expect some degree of inconvenience and to make time to provide necessary information. The policy terms explicitly require customers to cooperate fully and provide all requested information. Alwyn's request for an interview in either video or face-to-face format was reasonable and in line with standard insurance practice. The ombudsman noted that Mr J's provision of only one day's notice was insufficient for Alwyn to arrange interviews, and that customers have a responsibility to mitigate their losses. Alwyn's responses to queries were timely, and the request for further information did not constitute avoidable delays.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website