Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against UK Insurance Limited (trading as Churchill)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R claimed on his motor insurance policy with UKI following an accident in November 2025 that resulted in his car being deemed a total loss. UKI offered £17,949 in settlement, which Mr R disputed on the grounds that it did not account for the free electric charging benefit and optional extras fitted to his car. The ombudsman found UKI's valuation was fair as it matched the highest available valuation guide and the policy terms do not require insurers to account for service benefits or optional extras when calculating market value. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FOS standard approach to valuation disputes: checking whether the insurer's valuation sits in line with the highest valuation guides. UKI's valuation of £17,949 matched the highest guide obtained and included optional extras. Optional extras do not add to market value as they depreciate with the vehicle. The free charging benefit is not a specification of the car itself but rather a service benefit, and therefore is not covered under the policy's definition of market value as 'the cost of replacing your car with another of the same make and model, and of a similar age, mileage, and condition'.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website