Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Zego Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Zego Insurance Limited unfairly cancelled his telematics motor insurance policy and retained £108.86 in charges because he failed to download the required app before the policy started. Mr W argued that the app requirement was not made sufficiently clear at purchase and that Zego should have made more contact attempts while he was on holiday. The ombudsman found that although the app requirement could have been presented more clearly at purchase, it was adequately disclosed in the policy documents and IPID, and Zego had made sufficient notification attempts using multiple communication methods. The ombudsman was not satisfied that Zego could be held responsible for Mr W's failure to act on notifications while travelling and found the cancellation charges were applied fairly in accordance with the terms and conditions. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Zego could have made the app requirement clearer at the point of purchase (presenting it as an additional benefit rather than a mandatory requirement), the requirement was reasonably drawn to Mr W's attention through the policy booklet, terms and conditions, and IPID. The ombudsman considered that Zego had made sufficient attempts to notify Mr W using two different communication methods (emails and text messages) and a phone call, which is consistent with good practice. The ombudsman was not satisfied that Zego could be held responsible for Mr W's failure to act on these notifications while he was on holiday. The cancellation charges were applied in accordance with the terms and conditions after Mr W failed to comply with the policy requirement despite adequate warning.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website