Upheld: unfair car valuation / irresponsible settlement practice complaint against esure Insurance Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6328879 of 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00. unfair car valuation / irresponsible settlement practice complaint against esure Insurance Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6328879 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | esure Insurance Limited |
| Product | motor insurance |
| Claim type | unfair car valuation / irresponsible settlement practice |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | esure Insurance Limited must pay Mr A £2,866 as the fair market value for his car, plus simple interest at the time-weighted average Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point on the shortfall (£308) from the date of interim payment to the date of settlement |
Summary
Mr A complained about esure's valuation of his written-off car at £2,558, which was the median of three motor valuation guides (£2,866, £2,558, and £2,220). esure had been unable to find comparable adverts at the time of valuation to support its chosen middle figure. The FOS investigator upheld the complaint, recommending the highest guide value be paid. The ombudsman agreed, finding that esure failed to provide evidence justifying the lower valuation and that FOS expects insurers to offer the highest guide value absent supporting evidence. esure was ordered to pay £2,866 plus interest on the shortfall.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman applied FOS's established approach to valuation cases, examining whether the insurer acted reasonably in offering a fair market value. The ombudsman found that esure simply selected the middle valuation without sufficient supporting evidence, whereas FOS expects insurers to offer the highest valuation unless they can provide evidence to justify a lower offer. The adverts esure provided were not from the time of claim and therefore not a fair reflection of the marketplace at the time of the incident. With three clear valuation guides and no contemporaneous evidence supporting a lower valuation, the highest guide value of £2,866 represents the fair market value.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| esure Insurance Limited, all decisions | 1,890 | 41% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website