Not upheld: unfair policy cancellation complaint against Haven Insurance company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

T, a limited company, complained that Haven Insurance unfairly cancelled its commercial vehicle insurance policy after Mr T's nephew drove the vehicle without permission and was stopped by police. Haven cancelled the policy citing breach of terms requiring a stolen vehicle to be reported with evidence of prosecution or ongoing investigation. Mr T argued the decision to prosecute was outside his control as police treated it as a road traffic offence. The Ombudsman found Haven acted fairly and within their rights, as the phone call evidence suggested Mr T chose not to press charges and the policy requirement for evidence of prosecution or investigation was not met.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that the policy term was sufficiently clear and that it was fair and reasonable to require a policyholder to cooperate with police in investigating or prosecuting a stolen vehicle. Based on the phone call evidence, the Ombudsman was not persuaded that the choice to press charges was outside Mr T's control. The requirement for evidence of prosecution or ongoing investigation was not met, therefore Haven was entitled to rely on the policy term when cancelling the policy.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website