Not upheld: unfair liability decision and claims handling complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Admiral unfairly held his son liable for a roundabout accident and failed to obtain dashcam footage from the third party. Mr P's son had stated he pulled onto the roundabout and was hit from behind while exiting, claiming he did not see the third party's vehicle until impact. Admiral concluded Mr P's son had a higher duty of care and had entered the third party's path, making liability indefensible. The ombudsman found Admiral's decision was reasonable based on the driver's own account, which confirmed he had not checked for traffic in his path before proceeding, and that Admiral fairly conducted its investigation and interview. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Admiral was entitled to exercise its discretion over liability decisions fairly and reasonably. Based on Mr P's son's own testimony that he did not see the third party's car until impact, and that he had pulled onto the roundabout when another vehicle was blocking his view from the right, Admiral reasonably concluded that Mr P's son had entered the third party's path and had a higher duty of care under the Highway Code. The ombudsman was satisfied Admiral conducted a fair interview, asked pertinent questions, and reasonably determined that further evidence (such as dashcam footage) would be unlikely to change the outcome given the driver's own admissions. The ombudsman also found it reasonable that Admiral treated passenger evidence (Mr P's account) with caution as passengers are closely connected to the driver they support.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website