Not upheld: unfair car valuation complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A complained about Aviva's valuation of her written-off car, which Aviva valued at £7,550 after initially offering £6,608 and then £7,000. Miss A believed the car was worth over £8,000 and provided adverts to support her position. The ombudsman reviewed motor valuation guides which produced values between £7,303 and £7,672, and found Aviva's offer of £7,550 to be fair and reasonable as it was towards the highest guide value and supported by comparable market evidence. The complaint was not upheld, and Aviva was required to pay £100 compensation for inconvenience, which it had already offered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FOS approach to valuation cases, which is not to determine the exact valuation but to assess whether the insurer acted reasonably in offering a fair market value. The ombudsman reviewed the motor valuation guides which produced values ranging from £7,303 to £7,672, and found Aviva's offer of £7,550 to be towards the highest guide value. The ombudsman considered Miss A's evidence of comparable adverts but found they were either no longer current, subject to negotiation as advertised prices, or involved vehicles with significantly different mileage. Aviva's engineer evidence showed comparable cars available at the time of loss for less than £7,550, supporting the reasonableness of the valuation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website