Upheld: mishandling of refund - payment to unauthorised person complaint against Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6273536 of 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00. mishandling of refund - payment to unauthorised person complaint against Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6273536 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited |
| Product | motor insurance |
| Claim type | mishandling of refund - payment to unauthorised person |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | LV directed to pay: (1) £223.89 to the estate; (2) simple interest at 8% per annum from 19 January 2023 until payment; (3) £100.00 compensation for inconvenience. No further apology required as one was already provided in the final response. |
Summary
Mr M held a motor insurance policy with LV covering himself and his domestic partner as named driver. Following Mr M's death in November 2022, his partner notified LV and the policy was cancelled in January 2023 with a refund of £223.89. LV paid this refund to the partner without proper verification, despite the partner having no entitlement under Mr M's will. The executors of the estate complained that the refund should have been paid to them. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that LV should have recognised the partner's authorisation was revoked by death and should have conducted proper checks before releasing the funds.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that LV should have recognised that Mr M's death revoked any authorisation the partner had to deal with the policy. Since Mr M's will did not reference the partner and the partner was not a beneficiary, they had no right to the refund. LV failed to carry out proper checks that would have shown the refund should go to the executors. Therefore, LV paid the refund to a person with no entitlement to it.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited, all decisions | 1,945 | 27% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website