Not upheld: claims handling, medical assistance provision, incorrect application of policy excess complaint against Society of Lloyd's

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S and Ms S complained about the assistance received from Society of Lloyd's after Mr S was injured abroad and required medical attention. Society of Lloyd's delayed providing translated medical reports, incorrectly applied a £60 excess, and directed Mr S to arrange his own luggage assistance rather than providing it. Society of Lloyd's offered £300 compensation, which the ombudsman found fairly reflected the errors despite Mr S's argument that he should have been repatriated earlier. The ombudsman found no medical evidence supported urgent repatriation and concluded the compensation was appropriate for the service failures that occurred.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that Society of Lloyd's made errors in service delivery, including delays in providing translated medical reports and incorrectly applying an excess. However, the ombudsman found that the medical evidence did not support that earlier repatriation was medically necessary, and that Society of Lloyd's medical team reasonably relied on the treating hospital's reports. The ombudsman found it would have been fair for Society of Lloyd's to arrange luggage assistance rather than directing Mr S to the airline, but concluded that £300 compensation fairly reflected the overall impact of the errors.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website