Not upheld: misrepresentation on insurance application; policy voiding; claim denial complaint against Accredited Insurance (Europe) Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Ms G complained that Accredited Insurance voided her home insurance policy and declined a theft claim after discovering she had significantly underestimated the value of her jewellery. Ms G stated she had no valuables worth over £2,000 and total contents worth £11,000, but Accredited's professional valuation identified items worth £5,000-£15,000 with combined valuables value around £60,000. The ombudsman found Ms G's estimates were unreasonable given she possessed a 2001 receipt for a gold item worth £1,620 and owned multiple 22 carat gold items that would reasonably be expected to exceed £2,000 in value. Accredited demonstrated it would not have offered the policy with accurate information, and the ombudsman upheld its right to void the policy and decline the claim in accordance with CIDRA and good industry practice.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (CIDRA) principles, finding that Ms G failed to take reasonable care in providing estimates of her valuables' worth. While valuations naturally vary, Ms G's estimate of no more than £2,000 for items professionally valued at £5,000-£15,000 fell outside the reasonable range. Given Ms G had a 2001 receipt showing £1,620 for a gold item, she should have reasonably estimated that items made of 22 carat gold would likely exceed £2,000 in value over twenty years and should have obtained professional valuations. Accredited demonstrated it would not have offered the policy with accurate information, entitling it to void the policy and decline the claim in accordance with CIDRA and good industry practice.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website