Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against ACORN INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S obtained motor insurance through Acorn for a van with monthly direct debit payments. After payment failures in August and September 2020, Acorn cancelled the policy on 14 September 2020 and again on 14 October 2020, offering a 10-day window for reinstatement. Mr S experienced technical difficulties making an online payment on 14 October 2020 but did not contact Acorn again that month to pursue reinstatement or obtain alternative cover. In late November 2020, Mr S was stopped by police driving the uninsured van, leading to a conviction for driving without insurance and ultimately a driving disqualification in 2023. Mr S complained in late 2025 that Acorn was partly responsible for his driving ban. The ombudsman found that Acorn had clearly communicated the cancellation and that Mr S was aware the policy was no longer active, so Acorn was not responsible for the consequences of Mr S driving uninsured.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman focused on whether Acorn failed to communicate clearly that the policy no longer covered Mr S, which would have been necessary to hold Acorn responsible for the driving ban. The ombudsman found that Acorn clearly told Mr S on 14 October 2020 that the policy was cancelled, and that Mr S was aware of this because he responded to Acorn's email on that date. Although Mr S experienced technical difficulties with the online payment system on the evening of 14 October 2020, he was already on borrowed time having failed to pay by the 10-day deadline from the first cancellation. The ombudsman noted that Mr S did not contact Acorn again in October 2020 to attempt reinstatement or obtain a new policy, despite being given a 10-day window to do so. Therefore, Mr S had no reason to believe the policy still covered him when he was stopped by police in late November 2020.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website