Not upheld: administration error / failure to add named driver to motor insurance policy complaint against BISL Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L and Miss M complained that BISL Limited failed to add Mr L as a named driver to Miss M's motor insurance policy due to an administration error. This only became apparent after an accident occurred with Mr L driving, resulting in the insurance claim being declined. The ombudsman found that BISL, operating on a non-advised basis, met its obligations by providing clear information and instructing Miss M to review the policy documents through her online account. Since Miss M did not review the documents as instructed, the ombudsman concluded BISL was not at fault for the named driver not being added and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

As a non-advised sale, BISL was only required to provide sufficient, clear, fair and not misleading information to allow Miss M to make an informed decision. BISL met this obligation by instructing Miss M to review the documents and offering hard copies. The ombudsman found it was not BISL's role to identify potential errors in declared information or ensure policy suitability. Had Miss M reviewed the documents as instructed, she would likely have noticed Mr L was not added and could have remedied this. The screenshots provided were unclear as to their origin and whether any error was caused by the price comparison website, BISL, or Miss M herself.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website