Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against UK Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J claimed under his landlord insurance policy for extensive damage caused by tenants who vacated the property in August 2023. UKI declined the claim on the basis that Mr J failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent damage, specifically lacking evidence of regular property inspections and maintenance. Mr J had rented the property to foreign national workers through an agent under an informal verbal arrangement with no formal contract. The ombudsman upheld UKI's decision, finding that as an experienced landlord, Mr J should have implemented formal safeguards given the heightened risk, and his WhatsApp messages and photographs were insufficient evidence of adequate inspections. UKI's £750 compensation for processing delays was upheld as fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

As an experienced landlord, Mr J should have recognized the heightened risk posed by the inability to obtain standard tenant references and the agent's dual representation. Despite this, he failed to implement adequate safeguards: no formal written contract with the agent, no formal written inspection reports with photographs, and no recorded communications with the agent during the critical period before and after the policy inception. The WhatsApp evidence provided was insufficient to demonstrate regular property inspections and maintenance, particularly given the suspicious similarity of photographs and the cessation of recorded contact months before the claim. Therefore, UKI was entitled to decline the claim based on Mr J's failure to take reasonable precautions as required by the policy terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website