Not upheld: claim declined - moratorium period complaint against Chesnara Life (UK) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained that Chesnara Life (UK) Limited unfairly declined a cancer bereavement claim following her husband Mr S1's death in July 2025. The policy, which commenced in February 2025 and was automatically provided to all bank customers at no cost, contained a 12-month moratorium period before claims could be made. Since Mr S1 died only five months after the policy start date, Chesnara declined the claim in accordance with the policy terms. The ombudsman upheld Chesnara's decision, finding that the firm had acted fairly by applying the clearly stated contractual condition and that it is entitled to set such policy terms.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman agreed with the investigator that Chesnara acted in accordance with the policy terms. The policy clearly stated that death from cancer within 12 months of the start date would not be covered. Since the policy commenced in February 2025 and Mr S1 died in July 2025 (five months later), the claim fell within the excluded period. Chesnara is entitled to set policy terms and had done so clearly, therefore declining the claim was fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website