Not upheld: claim settlement decision and fault recording; service failures in claim handling complaint against Accredited Insurance (Europe) Ltd (AIL)

Decision detail

Summary

Ms T complained that AIL unfairly recorded a claim as her fault after her parked car was damaged in a carpark. Although CCTV footage existed, AIL delayed requesting it until it had been deleted. The third-party insurer denied involvement, and independent evidence suggested the third-party vehicle was unlikely involved. The ombudsman found that while AIL's delay in requesting CCTV and communication could have been better, the available evidence supported AIL's decision to record the claim as fault within the policy's terms. The ombudsman upheld AIL's offer of £350 compensation but did not require refund of the excess or removal of the fault marker.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman recognized that while AIL delayed in requesting CCTV footage and had communication shortcomings, the policy terms allow AIL discretion in settling claims as it sees fit, provided decisions are based on facts and evidence. The ombudsman found that based on available evidence—including the third-party's denial, images showing only slight damage inconsistent with the incident, and the engineer's report finding no evidence of third-party involvement—it was unlikely AIL would have successfully pursued third-party recovery even with the CCTV footage. Therefore, AIL's decision to record the claim as fault was reasonable and within policy terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website