Partially upheld: unfair cancellation of policies; failure to communicate effectively; administrative error in recording bank details complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Aviva Life unfairly cancelled his three insurance policies and failed to communicate effectively when the policies were being cancelled. The cancellations resulted from Aviva Life incorrectly recording Mr W's new bank account details in late 2019, causing premium payments to fail. Although Aviva Life sent seven letters (to Mr W, his financial adviser, and Trustees) attempting to resolve the issue and warn of cancellation, Mr W claims he did not receive them. The Ombudsman partially upheld the complaint, finding Aviva Life's £200 compensation offer fair for the administrative error, but upheld the firm's refusal to reinstate the policies based on policy terms limiting reinstatement to 30 days after notice of missed premiums, with five years having elapsed since cancellation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that while Aviva Life made an administrative error in recording incorrect bank details, the firm acted fairly and reasonably in attempting to rectify the situation through written communication as set out in the policy terms and conditions. The firm sent seven letters (to Mr W, his adviser, and Trustees) clearly explaining the issue and the consequences of non-engagement. The Ombudsman found on balance that letters were likely correctly delivered. The policy terms explicitly limit reinstatement to 30 days after notice of missed premiums, and too much time had elapsed (approximately five years) for reinstatement to be possible. The £200 compensation offered by Aviva Life was considered fair and reasonable for the service failing in recording incorrect account details.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website