Not upheld: Motor insurance, claim handling complaint against Tesco Underwriting Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C claimed under her motor insurance policy with Tesco after a breakdown provider's agent damaged her car during recovery on two occasions. Tesco accepted the claim for accidental damage but required Miss C to pay for repairs to an unrelated electrical fault before it could complete a full assessment of the recovery damage. Miss C complained that this was unfair as it required her to commit to repair costs without knowing the full extent of damage. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding Tesco's position consistent with policy terms and reasonable given that the electrical fault prevented full diagnosis and was not Tesco's responsibility. Tesco's previous £300 compensation payment was deemed fair.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the policy terms as the starting point, finding that Tesco was under no obligation to repair damage prior to the insured loss. The electrical fault was an unrelated issue that Miss C would have needed to address regardless of recovery damage. The ombudsman found it reasonable that Tesco could not conduct a full assessment without the electrical fault being resolved, as this prevented road testing and full diagnosis. The ombudsman rejected the argument that requiring Miss C to pay for the electrical fault repairs placed her at unfair disadvantage, as this was not Tesco's responsibility under the policy. The proposed options (cash-in-lieu or repair electrical fault first) were deemed reasonable ways to progress.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website