Not upheld: claim handling, courtesy car provision, repair decisions complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained about Admiral's service following a third-party car insurance claim, specifically regarding the courtesy car offered (a Fiat 500), missing trim on his repaired vehicle, and unrepairedear bumper damage. Admiral initially offered a Class A small hatchback in line with policy terms but upgraded to a Class C vehicle as goodwill. The trim was on back order and cosmetic only, and two expert inspections concluded the rear bumper damage was not accident-related. The ombudsman found Admiral acted fairly throughout, upheld the policy terms, handled the call professionally, and provided fair compensation of £50 for the missing trim, resulting in the complaint being not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the policy terms as the baseline for what Admiral was obliged to provide. The courtesy car offered (Class A small hatchback) was in line with policy terms, and Admiral's upgrade to Class C was discretionary goodwill. The ombudsman found the call was handled professionally and that Admiral's decision not to repair the rear bumper was reasonable given two independent expert inspections concluded it was not accident-related. The ombudsman found the £50 compensation for the missing cosmetic trim was fair, as parts availability is outside Admiral's control.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website