Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against HDI Global Specialty SE

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained that HDI Global Specialty SE failed to provide timely legal support after his professional licence was suspended in March 2025. The broker initially contacted HDI with notification only, and Mr K did not provide further details until May 2025, when the broker confirmed he had not yet done so. HDI did not receive direct contact from Mr K until September 2025, when he confirmed he wanted to progress a claim. HDI then referred the matter to panel solicitors, who determined there were no longer live proceedings the policy could cover. The ombudsman found that HDI properly treated the initial contact as notification only and was not obligated to take further action until Mr K directly engaged with it in September 2025, at which point HDI acted appropriately in referring to panel solicitors and accepting their assessment.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that HDI properly treated the initial March 2025 contact as notification only, as explicitly stated by the broker. Since the broker did not provide further contact or information until May, and then only to confirm Mr K had not yet provided details, HDI was not obligated to take further action at that time. The ombudsman noted that Mr K may have raised concerns with his broker or solicitor, but there was no evidence of direct contact with HDI until September 2025. When Mr K did confirm he wanted to progress the claim in September, HDI appropriately referred the matter to panel solicitors. Once they established there were no live proceedings, it was reasonable for HDI to confirm the policy could not fund the claim. The ombudsman also found that HDI reasonably referred Mr K to the legal helpline for advice on managing competing regulatory obligations, as this was a legal/regulatory matter outside the insurer's scope.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website