Not upheld: claim declined - not an insured event complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs J purchased a car for over £15,000 from a used car dealer and subsequently made a claim to Admiral Insurance after the vehicle was seized by Police as a clone. Admiral declined the claim citing a policy exclusion for vehicles seized by government authorities. The ombudsman found that the claim was not covered because police seizure of a cloned vehicle was not an insured event under the policy, which only covered loss or damage due to accident, vandalism, fire, lightning, theft or attempted theft. The ombudsman determined that Admiral had fairly declined the claim and did not uphold the complaint, though acknowledged Mrs J's difficult circumstances.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that the key issue was whether an insured event had occurred, not whether exclusions applied. The policy only covered loss or damage due to accident, vandalism, fire, lightning, theft or attempted theft. Police seizure of a cloned vehicle was not an insured event under these terms. Therefore, the claim was not covered regardless of any exclusions. The ombudsman also noted that Mrs J had not suffered a theft herself; the original owner had suffered the theft and was able to claim under their policy. While sympathising with Mrs J's situation, the ombudsman concluded Admiral had fairly declined the claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website